Malin's Blog of Books

12. "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

2012-02-08T16:02:00.000+01:00

Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: February 2nd, 2012
Date finished: February 5th, 2012

In the year 2044, most of the world has pretty much gone to hell. Most of humanity spend the majority of their available time hooked into OASIS, the virtual reality environment that contains any world or environment you could possibly imagine. As his real life involves being an orphan being raised by a greedy aunt in a dilapidated trailer park, Wade Watts' only chance at escape from his dismal existence means completing the ultimate quest, set down by James Halliday, the creator of OASIS, upon his death. The first person to unravel the riddles posed in his video will, and solve the various puzzles, will inherit his entire staggering fortune.

Wade is a gunter (short for egg hunter), one of the many who have dedicated their lives to finding Halliday's golden egg. Halliday loved anything relating to the 1980s and nerd trivia, and Wade has played all the computer games, watched all the TV shows and movies, read all the comic books and exhaustively studied anything to do with Halliday and his life, in an attempt to figure out where the first key is hidden. Being young and poor, he's not really able to travel much within the OASIS, he can only really stay on the educational planet where he goes to school. But one day, nearly dozing off in Latin class, he realizes that the location of the first challenge may indeed be located nearby.

As Wade becomes the first gunter to appear on the giant virtual scoreboard in the OASIS, the entire world's attention is suddenly turned towards him. He's no longer an unknown nobody, he's a person to be reckoned with, and there are powerful forces in the world willing to kill to reach Halliday's prize first. Soon Wade finds himself homeless, hunted and in danger for his life, simply because his encyclopedic knowledge of Halliday trivia has brought him closer to competing the quest. Can he defeat the evil corporation, prove himself worthy to the girl he loves, and win the ultimate game once and for all?

Ready Player One is stuffed full of nerd and geek references, and while I grew up watching my brothers play many of the computer games referenced, and watching the movies and listening to the music mentioned, I didn't even get a fraction of the stuff Cline has crammed into his debut novel. To fully appreciate and really enjoy the book, I suspect you have to actually remember the 1980s, it just won't resonate with you otherwise. While I thought the book had a slow start, and it took me a few chapters to really warm to Wade and get interested in the world he lived in, once the plot really got going, I was completely hooked. Reading it is a bit like playing a computer game, with end of level bosses, and new and bigger challenges until the final climax. Part dystopian sci-fi, part adventure, part romance and part thriller, Ready Player One was a delight to read, and I join the ranks of devoted fans of the novel. I can't wait to see what Cline writes as his follow up book.

11. "Die for Me" by Amy Plum

2012-02-08T00:43:00.000+01:00

Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: January 30th, 2012
Date finished: February 2nd, 2012

When Kate's parents die in a car accident, she and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with their grandparents. Kate is numb with grief for a long time, and unlike her sister, who's extrovert and a social butterfly, Kate stays inside a lot, and buries herself in books. When she finally starts going outside, she quickly meets the striking and mysterious Vincent, who along with his friends is clearly more than a normal student. When she discovers the truth about Vincent and his kin, she is forced to make a difficult choice. Unable to risk losing anyone else, how can she let herself get close to, even fall in love with, someone who literally risks his life for others?

Die for Me has certain surface similarities with Twilight. It's a young adult paranormal fantasy with a striking cover (sadly the cover image has little to do with anything in the actual book, with the exception of the book being set in Paris). Kate is a young woman who loves to read, and the story is told from her point of view. There's a mysterious and handsome young man, who turns out to be immortal. He lives with his "family" who are also immortals, and the truth about them must never be revealed to outsiders. There's obviously a romance. But that's really where the similarities end. For one thing, Kate is a much stronger heroine than Bella Swan, not a bland and anonymous presence whose only characteristic seems to be that she's clumsy. Vincent and his kin are not vampires, but Revenants, a wholly new supernatural being that Plum has made up, and the mythology behind them, and their evil counterparts, the Numa, is fascinating. The Revenants are people who died to save someone else, and who stay young and immortal by continuing to die to save others.

The setting of Paris also adds to the story. Having visited Paris for a week last year, it's a great place to set a mysterious and romantic story. The author lives in France, and clearly knows the city well. As far as I can tell from her website, this is the first book in a planned trilogy, with the second book coming out later in the spring. I shall look forward to reading it.

10. "The Rose Garden" by Susanna Kearsley

2012-01-31T17:00:00.000+01:00

Page count: 478 pages
Date begun: January 25th, 2012
Date finished: January 30th, 2012

When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves her PR job in California and goes to Cornwall, where they used to spend their happy childhood summers, to scatter the ashes. Emotionally vulnerable and grieving, she stays with old family friends in the house she remembers so well, and tries to make up for the room and board she's recieving by helping her friends, siblings Mark and Susan, to keep from losing their property. The house has beautiful rose gardens adjoining it, and while they used to have lots of visitors, interest has waned. Susan wants to open a tea room to bring in more tourists, and Eva agrees to help use her PR skills to assist her.

While staying in Cornwall, Eva at first thinks she's hallucinating from grief, as she hears strange voices in the house that no one else can hear. She sees an unfamiliar man, even talks to him a few times, and it's only when she finds herself in her bedroom, wearing his silk robe, that she is forced to admit that she's not going crazy, she just seems to be able to slip back in time to the 18th Century on occasion, and interact with the inhabitants of the house then. While sometimes days can pass on her visits to the past, no time seems to pass in the present while she's gone. Soon Eva is falling in love with Daniel Butler, a Cornish smugler loosely involved in the Jacobite rebellion, who died centuries before she was born. How can she help her friends in the present, when she's pining for the past, and how can she possibly sustain a viable relationship with a man when she keeps popping back to her own present?

Susanna Kearsley's last book, The Winter Sea, was also a combination of contemporary and historical fiction, woven together. In that book, both the narratives were gripping and kept me turning the pages. The Rose Garden, unfortunately, was much better when Eva was in the past. Her interactions with Daniel, his brother Jack and their friend and fellow smuggler Fergal (who pretends Eva is his sister to explain her sudden presence) were so much more interesting and compelling than her present day endeavours to get to grips with the loss of her sister, and helping the Hallett siblings get their business in order. I kept wanting her to spend less time focusing on the present and go back to the past. To be fair, Eva keeps wanting to return to the past too, so perhaps this is just a clever ploy of Kearsley's, to emphasise how much more awesome Eva's life is there, but I doubt it. Still, a perfectly enjoyable read, and the historical bits are excellent.

9. "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling

2012-01-25T18:19:00.000+01:00

Page count: 240 pages
Date begun: January 23rd, 2012
Date finished: January 24th, 2012

I have never watched a single episode of the American version of The Office (I know, what cave have I been living in?), but after reading Mindy Kaling's very funny autobiography, I'm absolutely going to mainline as many seasons as I can find.

Last year, I read Tina Fey's Bossypants, and it was as many other people have also agree, absolutely hilarious. Through CBRIII and IV, and on other review sites on the interwebs, I saw mention of Mindy Kaling's book, and while not as funny as Fey's book (possibly made funnier by me loving Mean Girls and 30 Rock), it still made me burst out laughing (to the point where I got weird looks on public transport) about once a page. It's a delightful and very quick read. To quote Kaling herself: "This book will take you two days to read. Did you even see the cover? It's mostly pink. If you're reading this book every night for months, something is not right."

Kaling makes humorous observations about her childhood, living in New York, Hollywood (her list of movie piches especially cracked me up), life, romance anddating, her own appearance and the media's perception of her. She even includes a selection of photos from her Blackberry and instructions for her own funeral. It's not in any way a profound or soul searching book, it's written to entertain, and suceeds brilliantly. I suspect that if you read and enjoyed Bossypants, you'll like this too. If you don't find that sort of biography funny (what's wrong with you?), you should probably give it a miss.

8. "Trouble at the Wedding" by Laura Lee Guhrke

2012-01-25T17:56:00.000+01:00

Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: January 22nd, 2012
Date finished: January 23rd, 2012

Miss Annabell Wheaton and her family used to be poor white trash, until her no good scoundrel of a father discovered a bunch of gold mines, conveniently died, and left them to his daughter. Annabell thought this would mean they never had to worry about anything ever again, but obviously her New Money is no good, and while they no longer live in a shack barely making ends meet, neither she nor her family are well recieved in American high society. Annabel's solution: find an empoverished English nobleman whom she doesn't hate to give her a position in society, so she (and her younger sister) will no longer be shunned and sniffed at at polite gatherings.

Christian Du Quesne has been the Duke of Scarborough for about three months, since his brother died. Unfortunately for Christian and his younger sister, who both married weathly Americans to try to save the family fortunes, the previous Dukes were excellent at gambling and living irresponsibly, and less good at taking care of the Dukedom's extensive properties. His marriage ended badly, when the innocent young woman he married for her huge dowry killed herself, while Christian was off on the Continent spending her money. He's determined never to marry again, happy to let the title pass to his cousin. He is, however, pretty much broke, and needs money fast. So when Annabel's uncle promises him half a million dollars if he can talk her out of marrying the fortune hunting Earl of Rumsford in a week, what's an empoverished nobleman to do?

Trouble at the Wedding is Guhrke's third Abandoned at the Altar novel, and probably the one that fits least into the mold. For one thing, no one is abandoned or jilted anywhere, Christian just creates a huge scene at Annabel's wedding. It was a quick read, but not really that compelling, and lacked the wit and passion of some of Guhrke's previous novels. Neither the hero or heroine were really all that interesting, nor was their journey towards their HEA that compelling. I do like that Guhrke writes historical novels from other eras than Regency England, though, and hope that her next novel is back on form, as I've previously enjoyed many of her books a whole lot.

7. "Shades of Milk and Honey" by Mary Robinette Kowal

2012-01-23T12:46:00.000+01:00

Page count: 304 pages
Date begun: January 20th, 2012
Date finished: January 21st, 2012

Miss Jane Ellsworth is in danger of becoming an unwanted spinster. She is clever and witty and very skilled in the art of glamour (a sort of magic weave used to enhance everything from people, furnishings to music and art), which is everything a gentlewoman should be. But she's also very plain, and suffers in comparison to her lovely and vivacious younger sister Melody, who in turn, is upset that she possesses no skill at glamour.

Melody is the sister with multiple suitors, while Jane is convinced she'll be overlooked forever. Neither sister has too generous a dowry, so it's important for both to make good matches. Jane hopes that maybe her accomplishments with glamour will convince some gentleman to overlook her plain features, and worries about her sister's impulsiveness and carelessness. When Jane discovers that her young friend and sister seem to have been courted duped by the same callous fortune hunter, she taxes her skills to the utmost to save them and their reputations.

Shades of Milk and Honey seems to have been marketed with "What if Jane Austen wrote fantasy". This is a fairly apt description, and Robinette Kowal attempts to write in the style of Austen, down to period spelling like surprize and shew. Unfortunately, to anyone with a more than passing familiarity to Austen's novels, it's very obvious that the book is mostly a composite of various Austen plots, with a little dash of magic inserted, and a dramatic ending tacked on. As a huge Austen fan, not to mention a reader of all kinds of fantasy, this book should've been right up my alley. Yet exactly because it was trying so hard to be an Austen homage, instead of doing its own thing, it suffered in comparison. Regency fantasy can work really well, in Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecilia trilogy, for instance, but it works because they're not trying to be Jane Austen, they're just setting their books in the same time period.

6. "How the Marquess Was Won" by Julie Anne Long

2012-01-22T02:24:00.000+01:00

Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: January 17th, 2012
Date finished: January 18th, 2012

Miss Phoebe Vale works as a school teacher at a school for recalcitrant girls. She entertains herself by reading the society gossip in the broadsheets, and dreams of going to Africa. When she agrees to spend a few days as a paid companion to a former pupil, Miss Lisbeth Redmond, she has no idea that her life is going to take a turn for the unexpected.

Julian Spenser, the Marquess Dryden, is known in the scandal sheets as Lord Ice. Most of his adult life he's spent rebuilding his family's reputation and fortunes after his father did his best to squander them. By making a match with Lisbeth Redmond, he would be able to restore the last piece of land his father lost, as part of her generous dowry. Yet he can't get Miss Vale out of his mind. While she may be physically more unremarkable than her friend, her intelligence and wit, not to mention the fact that she seems to be the only person who attempts to see him as a man, not just as Lord Ice.

This is the first Pennyroyal Green novel that doesn't actually feature the romance of a Redmond or an Eversea. It's perfectly enjoyable, but suffers in comparison to the previous two Long novels, I Kissed and Earl and What I Did for a Duke, which were both excellent. Phoebe is a very admirable heroine, but Julian is just a bit dull, especially in comparison to the heroes in the books I just mentioned. I was by no means bored, but I hope the next novel is about a proper family member, and also more in the vein of her best ones.

5. "Lothaire" by Kresley Cole

2012-01-17T00:06:00.000+01:00

Page count: 506 pages
Date begun: January 15th, 2012
Date finished: January 16th, 2012

This is the 12th book in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, and hence will make very little sense to anyone who hasn't read the earlier books in the series. While each book centers around a new couple, by now the paranormal soap opera that is these books has become so complicated, that it won't make a lot of sense or be half as much fun to read, unless you have the requisite back story. So go check out one of the earliest books, like A Hunger Like No Other or No Rest for the Wicked instead.

Lothaire, the titular "hero" of this book is known as the Enemy of Old to creatures of the paranormal Lore in the Immortals After Dark, and has been an antagonist to several of the previous heroes and heroines in the series. Feared and hated by pretty much every faction of the Lore, due to his ruthlessness and the huge amounts of bargains he's struck through the millennia. As one of the oldest vampires alive, all that drives him is his quest for revenge. Before she died, he promised his mother he would become king over the two main vampire factions, and avenge her. He finally has the means within his grasp.

Elizabeth Pierce finds herself on death row after a demonic goddess possessed her and made her commit brutal murders. Lothaire springs her from prison as she is about to be executed, as he needs the aid of the vampire deity inside her to fulfill his plans. While he finds Elizabeth's form pleasing, he needs the brutal goddess to take up permanent residence inside her, and that means that she has very little time left to live. At first she fears the vicious vampire, but she finds herself fascinated and drawn to him, and as she is only 24, Ellie doesn't really want to die. She'll have to use the only thing available to her, her looks and sensuality, to try to sway Lothaire into sparing her.

Lothaire has a lot of Old School romance tropes, and I can see that a lot of people might be bothered by how quickly Elizabeth falls for Lothaire, who is a ruthless killer and borderline insane. Having spent five years on death row, she is then trapped in a luxurious apartment, being taunted and belittled by him for her background, lack of refinement and general weakness as a puny human, constantly compared to the murderous deity that possesses her and falling short. Lothaire can't harm her, as he needs her body as a vessel for Soroya (the disembodied vamp goddess), but he threatens the lives of her mother, brother and extended family, and is generally an autocratic, condescending asshole. Yet she finds him deeply fascinating and devastatingly sexually attractive, snuggling up to him one minute and screaming "I hate you!" the next.

Still, as always, I found this installment by Kresley Cole incredibly entertaining, and had no trouble suspending my disbelief and just going along for the ride. The fated mates always work out in the end, no matter how impossible the journey to the HEA seems. She writes highly enjoyable banter, steamy sex scenes and it's fun that she's now working her way through some of the darker, more dislikable characters in her extended universe. Wonder what will be next?

4. "The Nine Tailors" by Dorothy L. Sayers

2012-01-16T21:24:00.001+01:00

Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: January 7th, 2012
Date finished: January 15th, 2012

In my early teens, I read a LOT of Agatha Christie novels. All the ones I could find in translation at my local library, in fact, and once I became more proficient in English, quite a few more of them in English. I've probably read at least 90% of all the novels Dame Agatha wrote. I've heard about the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries over the years, but never had the opportunity to read one before now.

Lord Peter Wimsey is on his way to friends on New Year's Eve when he accidentally drives his car into a ditch, due to the excessive amounts of snow. He and his manservant are taken in by the kindly rector of the nearby village. Due to an influenza, one of the locals due to help out with a special bellringing feat is incapacitated, and his lordship earns the respect and gratitude of his host by helping out with the New Year's peal. The rector is called away as Lady Thorpe is dying, and Lord Peter hears the story of the priceless emerald necklace that was stolen when Sir Charles Thorpe married his lady. The emeralds were stolen before the First World War, but both the thieves were imprisoned, and neither would admit where the loot was.

A few months later, Lord Peter receives a letter from the rector, announcing that Sir Charles Thorpe has also passed away, and when he was to be buried, an unidentified corpse was found in Lady Thorpe's grave. The corpse had been badly disfigured, with the hands chopped off, and the rector asks for Lord Peter's help in figuring out the identity of the dead man, as well as who killed the stranger. Working with the local police, Lord Peter is slowly able to piece together who the disfigured corpse is, and how he came to end up in Lady Thorpe's grave, but the identity of the murderer is not revealed until the very end of the book.

I suspect hearing about Dorothy L. Sayers' books for so many years, and especially that The Nine Tailors was her best novel, I had my expectations set too high. I did like the unusual mystery, and the final reveal, but much of the book irritated and bored me. There was a lot of waffle about the damming of the fens, and Lord Peter talking to random rustics about fairly inconsequential things (yes, I know some of them became important later, but in no way that felt necessary) and all the stuff about bell ringing was completely uninteresting to me. The various villagers were very well depicted, and I especially liked young Hilary Thorpe, who was very clever, but if this is actually Sayers' best novel, I'm not going to be in a hurry to check out any of her other ones. A bit of a disappointment, this.

3. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead

2012-01-08T01:26:00.000+01:00

Page count: 432 pages
Date begun: January 6th, 2012
Date finished: January 7th, 2012

Bloodlines is the first novel in Richelle Mead's spinoff, featuring some of the minor characters from her previous Vampire Academy series. It's obviously meant to work as a new starting point into the paranormal fantasy world Mead's created, but I suspect it works better if you've read some of the other Vampire Academy books as well.

Sydney Sage is an alchemist, part of a secret organisation which has worked to hide the existence of vampires, both Moroi (living "nice" vampires) and Strigoi (undead evil vampires), from humans. She's been rigorously trained for her duties since she was a child by her very strict father, and alchemists in general fear and try to avoid vampires as much as possible Due to events that transpired in the final two Vampire Academy books, Sydney's seen as someone who fraternizes with the Moroi vampires, and has forgotten her place. Yet when the only sister of the ruling vampire Queen is in danger of being assassinated, Sydney seems to be the best alchemist to help keep her safe and in hiding, as she's familiar with the girl, and young enough that she won't seem out of place in high school.

Sydney's happy to get a chance to work again, but horrified by the thought of having to share a room with and pose as the older sister of a vampire, albeit a Moroi one. However, if she refuses the mission, she'll be cast aside and replaced by her younger sister, who will have to work with an alchemist Sydney knows is a creep, so she agrees to go to high school in Palm Springs, and share a dorm room with a living vampire, helping to keep the girl safe. Already having learned that the Moroi vampires and their half-human servants/bodyguards are not so bad, Sydney becomes more and more open minded as her mission progresses.

At the school, she quickly makes a lot of friends, and discovers that while she excels academically, having been home schooled, she's got a lot to learn when it comes to social interaction. She also discovers that someone is giving the rich high schoolers performance enhancing tattoos, very similar to those of the protective tattoos given to the alchemists. Whoever's doing them is clearly doing something illegal, and Sydney tries to figure out where the tattoo parlor gets its supplies, while trying to fend off her hostile and scheming supervisor and organizing the lives of her vampire charges.

There's a lot of potential in Bloodlines, but compared to even the weaker Vampire Academy books, it falls a bit short. This is partially because Sidney is not as engaging a protagonist as Rose Hathaway was. While there is some action and mystery in this book, it's also not as exciting and fast paced as some of Mead's previous novels, and the story drags in places. The main reason I enjoyed this book was the return of Jill and Adrian from the Vampire Academy books, who were always interesting there, and get more to do in this book. I'm also curious to see where Mead is taking her spin off, she doesn't seem able to entirely distance herself from the characters of her previous series, and I hope that she's able to make this work on its own, otherwise I think the books will suffer more in comparison.

2. "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

2012-01-07T00:16:00.000+01:00

Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: January 4th, 2012
Date finished: January 6th, 2012

So I saw this book mentioned in rave reviews all over the internets in the last year, and as I enjoy young adult quite a bit, I figured it might be worth checking out. I have to agree with what a lot of people are saying - young adult novels have certainly changed since I was a teenager. The plots tended to feature your teen pregnancies, and eating disorders, and homosexuality, and drug abuse, and AIDS and stuff. There were no sparkly vampires, or morally ambiguous fairies, or werewolves, or apprentice witches of the Discworld, or magical wizards schools, or Greek or Egyptian demi-gods, or criminal masterminds, and certainly no post apocalyptic future where most things have gone completely to hell, like in The Hunger Games or this one. Seriously, young adults today don't know they're born, they have so much good stuff to choose from.

Nailer works as a ship breaker, crawling through the tiny spaces of beached, rusting hulks, trying to scrounge enough copper wire to make the daily quota, so he and his work crew can eat for another day. His mum is dead, his dad is a calculating, deadly drug fiend who rarely has a good word for him. He's fiercely loyal to his work crew, and fears the day when he grows too big to work stripping copper, as he may not be big and strong enough to get work on a crew stripping heavy things like iron. He watches the sleek, clean, elegant clipper ships that sail by, and hopes that some day he'll find enough oil or gold to buy himself out of his dismal existence, but has very little hope of anything ever changing for him.

A few days after nearly drowning in a room filled with oil, a terrible storm hits the beach where Nailer and the other ship breakers live in shacks. When out with his crew mate Pima (whose mother is the only adult who seems to really care for him), he finds a stranded clipper ship, blown onto the beach by the storm. Inside the ship, they find enough luxuries to buy their freedom and set them up for the rest of their lives, but they also find a beautiful and clearly very rich girl, in the rubble. When trying to strip her jewelry from her, they discover that she's still alive, and have to decide whether the kill her, and keep their new found riches for themselves, or save her.

Due to his recent near death experience, Nailer can't bring himself to let Pima kill the girl humanely. They decide to rescue the girl, who assures them that her father will reward them handsomely for her return. But Nailer's psychotic father and his crew of equally dangerous low-lifes have also discovered the wreck, and want to sell her to the rival band who want to take over her father's business. Can Nailer go against the only family he has left, and abandon everything he's ever known, to risk his life and possibly his future for a disdainful stranger?

Bacigalupi paints an all too convincing picture of our future in Ship Breaker. The ice caps have melted, the sea levels have risen. Pollution and reliance on fossil fuels have made much of the world uninhabitable. The gap between the haves and the have nots has become almost insurmountable, with most people scavenging whatever they can find, including blood and organs, to sell to the wealthy corporations. Terrible hurricanes ravage the coasts of what used to be America, and many of the big cities are under water.

Nailer's life is awful, and you can't fault him for dreaming about something better. He lives in a harsh reality, where you are loyal to your blood-sworn crew, and betrayal is punished swiftly and brutally. Without a crew at your back, you are nothing. Every character is beautifully fleshed out, with very little effort, and the world building is excellent. The descriptions Bacigalupi uses are stark, sparing and very effective. There's quite a lot of violence and brutality, and the action rarely slows down for long.

I wanted to love the book, but something I can't quite put my finger on, held me back. Maybe it's just the sci-fi aspect. For some reason, I have a lot less time for science fiction than fantasy. I just can't seem to like it as much. This was a very good book, but maybe all the glowing reviews had raised my expectations up too high. Still, it's well worth a read, and people without a strange aversion to fantasy might enjoy it even more than I.

1. "Trial by Desire" by Courtney Milan

2012-01-04T23:41:00.001+01:00

Page count: 368 pages
Date begun: January 2nd, 2012
Date finished: January 3rd, 2012

This is book is a sequel of sorts to Milan's debut novel Proof by Seduction, but can be read without any prior knowledge to events in the last book.

Lady Kathleen "Kate" Carhart had barely been married to her husband for three months when he left her to go to China to prove to the world he can be responsible. In his absence, she managed as best she could, fending off unwanted attention from louts wanting to seduce her, and secretly spiriting away abused wives from their cruel husbands. She's just managed to save another, when her husband returns unexpectedly. Can she trust him with her secrets? Surely she can't count on his support, when the last wife she "stole" is married to one of his oldest friends?

Ned Carhart suffers from bouts of depression, and went to China in part to figure out a way to control himself. When he returns, he believes that he can finally avoid the worst lows, but he is determined that no one learn of his terrible weakness, least of all his extremely capable wife. He's also faced with the arrival of his old friend, who wants his help in locating his wife and newborn heir. Ned needs to figure out why his wife is acting so strangely, and how he can win her trust, and possibly even her heart, all the while hiding his depression from her.

Things I liked: Kate is a great heroine. She's brave, independent, intelligent and caring. Unsatisfied with her pampered existence as a duke's daughter, she wanted to help others, and has been aiding abused women since she was sixteen. She hasn't been able to tell anyone about it, as in the male dominated society she lives in, she's be unlikely to get any support. She marries a man she barely knows, and he abandons her before she has a chance to really get to know him. Yet she's determined to make her marriage work, even when her husband does things that make little to no sense to her. She's calmly stands up to threats from her friend's abusive husband, and even takes a beating rather than reveal the location of the woman she spirited away.

Courtney Milan clearly likes her heroes to be a bit damaged. A romance hero with depression is an unusual thing. I like her trying to do something different.

What I didn't like:
Ned is pretty much a prize idiot. I get why he was so determined to gain control over himself and try to tackle his depression all by his lonesome. But it's a moronic thing to do. Kate keeps reaching out to him, making romantic and seductive gestures, and he mostly pushes her away. He keeps telling her that he wants her to trust him and lean on him, but refuses to actually tell her how he really feels or what he fears, and for much of the book I just really wanted to slap him silly. I myself have suffered depression, and I'm married to a man who struggles with depression much worse than what Ned is described as having, and this made much of the book difficult to really enjoy for me. A romance pretty much fails when you feel the heroine could do better and should pick someone else.

Despite that, Milan is a very capable writer, and the overall plot of the book and the heroine is enough that I don't regret reading it. It's no Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever, so it's got that going for it.

End of year review 2011 - start of Cannonball IV

2012-01-03T16:03:00.000+01:00

New year, new Cannonball Challenge. As reading and blogging 104 books became more of an ardous chore than something I actually enjoyed doing, I will start out by reading and blogging 52 this year. Depending on when I finish that accomplishment, I will then set a new goal for the rest of the year.

Due mostly to a very heavy workload, and more demands from my job than in previous years, 2011 was the year when I got less reading done than since I started keeping track of such things a few years ago.

In total I read 133 books.
I read 111 new books, I read 7 graphic novels/comics collections, and I reread only 15 books. This is a lot more than most people manage, but a lot less than I myself managed only the year before.

My goal for 2012 is therefore to try to limit the degree to which work seems to take over my life, so that I have more time to read, blog, socialize and otherwise do enjoyable things. Reading makes me happy, too much work makes me miserable - hence, it seems sensible to up the amount of the former, and manage my time better so I get less stressed by the latter.

I also attempted to make a Top 10 list of the best books I read in 2011, but it turned into a Top 12 list, as I had too many favourites. In alphabetical order, going by author, here are the reads of 2011 that I enjoyed the most:

The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
Fate's Edge - Ilona Andrews
Chime - Franny Billingsley
The Black Hawk - Joanna Bourne
Heart of Steel - Meljean Brook
A Lady's Lesson in Scandal - Meredith Duran
What I Did for A Duke - Julie Anne Long
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
Attachments - Rainbow Rowell
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer/Annie Barrows
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

All the books were reviewed here on my blog in the past year, so if you're interested in reading a more detailed explanation of why I liked them, use the search function.

104. "Unraveled" by Courtney Milan

2011-12-29T01:23:00.000+01:00

Publisher: CreateSpace
Page count: 274 pages
Date begun: December 19th, 2011
Date finished: December 20th, 2011

Unraveled is the third and final novel in Milan's trilogy, and can be read independently from the others, but to get full enjoyment out of it, as several minor unresolved story threads introduced in the previous two books, are resolved in this one, I would recommend reading books 1, Unveiled, and 2, Unclaimed, first.

The three Turner brothers had an awful childhood. They all have dreadful names, basically long verses of Scripture, because their mother was deeply religious, and their father was not around to stop her from naming them whatever the heck she wanted. Nor was he there to protect his children from the abuse they suffered from a woman who was clearly crazy. All three men have psychological and emotional scars, which affect them in different ways. Despite their awful past, two of the Turner brothers found love and happiness in the previous books in the series. In Unraveled, it`s the middle brother, Smite's turn.

Smite (trust me, the line of Scripture he's named for is too long to be quoted here) possibly had it worst of the three boys. His eldest brother, Ash, left to make money to support his family, and Smite protected his younger brother, Mark, from the worst of their mother's crazy excesses. Cursed with a photographic memory, he is unable to forget any of the things he endured, although as an adult he puts his perfect recollection to good use as a judge in Bristol. His accurate memory for all the laws and his strict, but coldly fair judgement have earned him the nickname "Lord Justice".

Because of his perfect recall, he recognizes Miss Miranda Darling the minute she sets foot in his courtroom, disguised as a farmer's daughter, bearing witness in a minor case. As she appeared with a different name and appearance nearly a year earlier, Smite knows she is risking perjury, and he follows her home after the session in court. He warns her never to bear false witness in his courtroom again, or he'll make sure she's thrown in jail. Miranda's worried, as the reason she is pretending to be other people and witnessing in minor felony cases, is that she's made a deal with the shadowy underworld figure known as the Patron, who tries to secure justice for the lower classes in Bristol (most of the judges are not as law-abiding and principled as Smite).

Miranda is struggling to make a living by making and selling wigs. She's also supporting Robbie, a young boy who was abandoned with the acting troupe of Miranda's parents. While Miranda's childhood was a happy one, her life changed when the acting troupe fell apart due to her father's crushing depression after her mother's death. Trying as best she can to keep Robbie out of trouble, and away from a life of petty crime, she has to take the occasional "acting job" on behalf of the Patron. Now that Smite has proven that he can recognize her no matter what she's wearing, wigs and all, she wants to change her arrangement with the Patron, but this proves more difficult than she thought.

Smite is seen as cold, odd and unfeeling by everyone around him, and seems to care only for his dog. Yet he feels drawn to Miranda, and as his life seems brighter and more bearable when she's around, he proposes an arrangement that can benefit both of them.

Of all of Milan's Turner brothers, damaged and vulnerable in different ways, Smite was absolutely my favourite. He's plagued by recurring nightmares, can't bear the sound of running water (his mother nearly drowned him once), he can't stand to have his face touched, and he allows himself a maximum of 30 minutes of sentimentality per day. No wonder the world sees him as a cold, unfeeling automaton, dedicated only to justice. Miranda refuses to be scared by Smite, and quickly realizes that there is a lot more to the man than his ceaseless pursuit of duty. She refuses to take him seriously, and teases and berates him in a way only his brother Mark has ever dared. Miranda may have been raised by actors, but she is still rather innocent. Intelligent, witty, resourceful and adventurous, she accepts Smite's offer to become his mistress, both because he offers her a sum that will secure her for life, but mostly because she's strongly attracted to him.

This is my absolute favourite of the trilogy, and once again, Milan impressed me by having the characters communicating openly and honestly with one another. There are no big misunderstandings, or lies to protect the feelings of someone else, or going behind someone's back. Miranda and Smite are a wonderful couple, and it was good to see a resolution to the whole story. Highly recommended - Milan is now on my pre-order list.

103. "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater

2011-12-29T00:36:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Scholastic
Page count: 482 pages
Date begun: December 12th, 2011
Date finished: December 15th, 2011

On the small island of Thisby, off the coast of either Ireland or Scotland (it's never specified), men compete in the deadly Scorpio Races every November, riding the vicious and blood-thirsty capaill uisce, the water horses.

Sean Kendrick lost his father to the races, but has worked with horses since he was ten. No one has better control over horses, normal or from the sea, and he has won the races four years in a row, on Corr, his red water stallion. Sean doesn't require metal, charms or bells to control his horse, he loves the horse, but knows that if he's not careful, the call from the ocean could tempt the stallion to turn on him to return to the sea. Yet despite the close bond, Sean doesn't own Corr, he works for the largest horse breeder on the island, and saves up a little more money each year, hoping for independence. He makes a bargain, that if if wins the race this year, he'll finally get to buy his beloved horse.

Kate "Puck" Connelly is an orphan. She lives with her two brothers, trying to make ends meet in their tiny cottage after water horses killed their parents in a boat accident the year before. Puck loves to ride her sturdy little island pony, Dove, but fears the capaill uisce, knowing the devastation they can cause. When her eldest brother announces that he is leaving Thisby, because there's not enough for him left on the island, Puck announces that she will ride in this year's race, hoping that the prize money will pay off the debts they have on the cottage, and her brother will stay. But women have never competed in the Scorpio Races before, and every year, a large part of the contestants die.

The book has alternating points of view, from both Puck and Sean. Hence the reader gets to know both of them, their hopes and fears and what drives them. Both have to win the race at pretty much any cost, and both are fully aware of the dangers of racing. Puck's in additional danger because she's the first woman to compete, not news well received by the traditional men on the island. She also insists on riding her pony, when all the other riders will be on deadly water horses.Sean has a dangerous rival in his employer's bastard son, Mutt, who believes that his father cares more for Sean, and is jealous of his previous victories in the races. Mutt constantly tries to humiliate and endanger Sean, and this year he's determined to get control over Corr, possibly over Sean's dead body.

I absolutely adore Lament, and am also very fond of Ballad, both by Stiefvater, yet this book didn't really engage me, despite the desperate situations of both Puck and Sean. The plot dragged a bit, and the book takes a good while to really get started, and while I see why so much of the descriptions of the life on the island and the slow buildup to the race was included, but I just didn't care all that much. The concept of the vicious, flesh-eating water horses was very cool, though.

102. "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles

2011-12-28T23:53:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Sceptre
Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: December 9th, 2011
Date finished: December 11th, 2011

In the book's prologue, the protagonist of the story, Katey, is in an art gallery with her husband in 1966. They're looking at photographs taken on the New York subway in 1937-38. In two of the photos, she recognises an old friend, Tinker Grey, in vastly different circumstances, despite the photos being taken less than a year apart. In the first, taken in 1937, he's clean-shaven, snappily dressed and obviously wealthy, whilst in the photo from late 1938, he's scruffy, wearing a threadbare coat and clearly much more down on his luck. Seeing the pictures, makes her think back to her youth, 25 years ago.

Katey Kontent (originally Katya - daughter of Russian immigrants) is young and optimistic as the year nears its end in 1937. She's an accomplished typist, commended by her superiors, and shares a flat with her best friend Eve, a beauty from the Midwest. In a jazz club on New Year's Eve, the two of them meet Tinker Grey - a young, handsome investment banker. Both girls are smitten with him, but before either of them get a proper chance with him, their lives change dramatically one evening early in 1938. They're in a car accident and Eve is seriously injured. Tinker insists that she recuperate and heal in his lavish flat on the Upper West Side. Katey and Eve grow ever more estranged, and Katey gives up Tinker as lost.

Over the course of the year, many things change for Katey. She starts moving up in society, making influential friends. She changes careers and learns a lot about reinvention, both of her own and others' identities. By the end of 1938, she's learned that one cannot trust outward appearances, both in positive and negative respects.

The book is wonderfully written, with beautiful observations on Jazz Era New York. I've read several reviews that compared it to The Great Gatsby, but unlike that book (which bored me senseless), I actually enjoyed this one. The main reason for that is Katey, who's a wonderful heroine and I kept reading to see how her life developed. She's witty, clever, ambitious and observant, yet both she and the reader are forced to reevaluate their opinions on most of the events and characters in the story There are a number of twists, and just as you think you have a clear picture of what's going on, Towles turns the tables once more. This is his debut novel, and I will absolutely be looking for more of his books.

101. "Attachments" by Rainbow Rowell

2011-12-17T01:55:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Dutton
Page count: 336 pages
Date begun: December 7th, 2011
Date begun: December 8th, 2011

Attachments is set around the turn of the 20th Century, when e-mail technology was still fairly new, and a lot of companies were worried about the effects of Y2K. Lincoln works nights for the newspaper The Courier, hired to monitor the employees' e-mail correspondence, where a filter flags e-mails containing inappropriate terms or topics. Lincoln is shy and quite nerdy, and doesn't really like his job much. He hates the feeling of spying on others, but the job pays well, so he sticks with it.

Beth, the Courier's film reviewer, and her best friend Jennifer, who works as a copy editor, spend a lot of their work days e-mailing each other, blithely ignoring the office rumours that their correspondence is being monitored. Jennifer's unsure whether she wants a baby, but her husband Mitch is extremely ready for one. Beth's younger sister is getting married, while Beth's been in a relationship with her rockstar boyfriend for years, patiently waiting for him to propose to her. The two women discuss all aspects of their lives with each other, and because Lincoln didn't send them a warning when their first e-mails got flagged, he really can't bring himself to do it once time passes, and he gets more and more caught up in their lives. While he's never met them, he starts thinking of them as friends, and even starts to develop feelings towards Beth.

Of course, Beth is in a relationship, and doesn't even know he exists, let alone that he's being paid to spy on her most private and personal conversations with her best friend. Even if she were to become available, and they were to meet, how do you tell someone that you fell in love with them through spying? Can you fall in love before first sight?

Attachments is part normal narrative, following Lincoln's life, and part the e-mail correspondence between Beth and Jennifer. This is yet another book that I discovered through Raych's excellent blog, and I'm so glad I found it. It's a delightful and very engrossing read, and the friendship between Beth and Jennifer is so touching, realistic and comforting. The whole book is like a great romantic comedy in book form, and while what Lincoln is doing should be creepy, you can't help but root for him, because you, the reader, get drawn into the women's lives and troubles and want to be their friends too. He's also a kind, caring, considerate and loving person, feeling constantly guilty for continuing to read their e-mails instead of just deleting them, but he just can't help himself. I read it in a day and a half, and if I hadn't had to work, I would probably have forgotten everything around myself and devoured it in one sitting. Hugely recommended, probably one of my absolute favourites this year.

100. "An Artificial Night" by Seanan McGuire

2011-12-17T01:30:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Daw
Page count: 368 pages
Date begun: December 4th, 2011
Date finished: December 7th, 2011

In An Artificial Night, Toby Daye, half-human changeling and faery knight, has to face Blind Michael, the leader of the Wild Hunt, one of the oldest and most dangerous of faeries. Every hundred years, his riders go into the world and gather new recruits, stealing children from faeries, changelings and humans alike (the faeries to ride, the humans to be mounts). Toby's best friends call her in a panic when their two youngest kids go missing and their middle daughter won't wake up from a mysterious sleep. Tybalt, King of Cats, informs her that several of the cait sidhe children and changelings have gone missing too. He promises that her debt to him will be cleared if she finds his missing subjects.

Luna, Duchess of the Shadowed Hills, has a mysterious past Toby never even guessed at, as Toby discovers when she goes to tell her liege lord what has happened. She tries to warn Toby to let the issue go, as it's nearly impossible to get to Blind Michael's realm, and to enter it means either eternal enslavement or death. Toby is determined to save the children, though, and with the help of Luna, and the Luideag, the ancient and powerful sea witch who is Toby's friend and Blind Michael's sister, she is put on one of the three paths to his realm, with a magic candle and 24 hours to complete her mission.

If Toby seemed to blunder around and get herself into mortal danger a lot in the previous book, things escalate massively in this one. Even though the mission means near certain death, Toby is determined to complete it. She cannot allow the children to become the twisted members of Blind Michael's Wild Hunt, and she thinks nothing of risking her life to save them. Suffice to say, before the book is over, Toby will have been on all three of the roads to Blind Michael's realm, and I was actually amazed at how much she was able to endure in order to save not only the children of her friends, but as many other of Blind Michael's victims as she can.

While she may seem bullheaded and too foolhardy for her own good, An Artificial Night also shows all of Toby's very admirable qualities. She's brave to the point of idiocy, and determined to see her mission through, no matter what the personal cost to herself. It's easy to see why her diverse group of friends (Luna, Quentin, Duke Sylvester, Tybalt, the Luideag) are desperate to try to save her from Blind Michael, and herself. As in the last book, I thought parts of the story dragged, but the cast of characters is compelling enough that I will keep reading, if only to find out whether Quentin becomes Toby's squire, and therefore a more permanent sidekick, and also to see whether Tybalt is actually going to become a proper love interest, instead of just a frustratingly enigmatic charmer.

99. "A Local Habitation" by Seanan McGuire

2011-12-17T01:03:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Daw
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: December 1st, 2011
Date finished: December 3rd, 2011

A Local Habitation is the second book in the October Daye series, and while it will make sense on its own, I would recommend reading the books in order.

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, half human and half faerie. Unlike many other changelings, her magical abilities are quite weak, and it takes most of her energy to just maintain the glamour to hide her faerie appearance. She does, however, possess the same blood magic as her mother, enabling her to read a faerie's whole life in a drop of their blood. This helps her when she's working as a private detective, specializing in helping changelings and faeries. She's the only changeling faerie knight, and always feels like an outsider, but swears fealty to the Duke of the Shadowed Hills. So when he calls her and asks her to go to the little county of Tamed Lightning, to check up on his niece, she can't really refuse.

Along for the trip comes Quentin, a young faerie fostering with Duke Sylvester, who's in training to become a squire. Toby believes the visit will be a brief one, but once she arrives in the little faerie county, it quickly becomes obvious that something is badly wrong. In the interchangeable corridors of the strangest IT company you'll encounter, the employees, all faeries or changelings, have been dying. Most of the staff have left, afraid that they'll be next. Duke Sylvester's niece, January, has been trying to contact her uncle for weeks, but none of the calls get through. As people keep dying, Toby and Quentin have to try find the murderer before January and her core staff get killed too.

I enjoyed the book, but Toby really doesn't strike me as that good a detective. She mainly stumbles around, nearly getting herself killed a lot, and more or less found out the identity of the killer through a process of elimination. When there are barely any people left in the company, one of them is pretty obviously going to be the killer.

The relationship between Toby and Quentin is an interesting one, and I'm assuming that McGuire is establishing a friendship that will lead to him becoming her squire in some future book. He's very eager to learn from her, sheltered and innocent in many ways, being a full blooded faery, who's not experienced the human world as much. My favourite character, Tybalt, a cait sidhe (cat faery) also makes an appearance. Toby is confused by his enigmatic behaviour, as before the events of the last book, he used to be deeply antagonistic towards her, and now he's positively friendly, and even quite protective of her. Whether this is just because she owes him a debt, and he wants to keep her alive until it's repaid, is uncertain.

So far, the October Daye series doesn't grip me as much as several other paranormal fantasy series that I'm following, but McGuire has created a very interesting world. While the stories don't always compel me as much as those of Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs or Nalini Singh, the cast of characters and skillful world building is enough to keep me curious to see how things develop, and I will keep reading them for a while yet. Reviews of future books on the internet seem to imply that the series gets better as it progresses, and that bodes well.

98. "Fate's Edge" by Ilona Andrews

2011-12-16T15:28:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Ace
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: November 29th, 2011
Date finished: November 30th, 2011

Fate's Edge is the third and penultimate book in the Edge series, and while the previous books could be read more or less independently of each other, this one is more of a straight sequel to book 2, Bayou Moon, and while it will make sense, won't be half as satisfying. As a consequence, this review will also contain minor spoilers for books 1 and 2, and if you haven't read the series, stop reading this and go read On the Edge instead.

Audrey Callahan comes from a family of con men and grifters, who have benefitted greatly from her magical ability to unlock anything, but sick of being used, Audrey cuts all ties with her family, and determines to stay on the straight and narrow. She wants to use whatever tricks she used pulling cons to aid her in her new, respectable career as a private investigator. When her father shows up on her doorstep, suggesting one last heist, so they can get her older brother into rehab (again), she reluctantly agrees, on the condition she never has to see or hear from either of them again.

Kaldar Mar is an all-round scoundrel, and uses his good looks, guile and intelligence as a spy, working to get revenge on the Hand, the ruthless organization that wiped out his former home and much of his family. He's tasked with tracking down the powerful object that Audrey helped steal, and believes he can easily charm Audrey into assisting him. Audrey may look gentle and innocent, but she calls Kaldar on his game immediately, and leaves him tasered and tied to a chair in her office within minutes of meeting him. She knows he's bad news for her, and her law-abiding and normal existance, and wants nothing to do with anything he's proposing.

The Hand are after the object her family stole, however, and their agents don't care who they have to torture and/or kill to get it back. Once Audrey realizes how many people her theft may have endangered, her conscience won't allow her to turn her back on Kaldar's mission, even though all her instincts tell her to stay far, far away from the dangerously charming man who not only can keep up with her and her schemes, but whose skills possibly even surpass her own. A charming ladies man like Kaldar would never be happy tied down to just one woman, so she'll need to keep her wits about her to avoid heartbreak and rejection once the mission is over.

Ilona and Gordon Andrews are husband and wife, and co-write all their books. As well as the Edge series, they also write the paranormal Kate Daniels books, which I also adore. With a few exceptions, all their books are brilliant, and they are now on my pre-order list, no matter what books they produce. The Edge series books are a bit more focused on romance than the Kate Daniels ones, with a central couple getting their HEA over the course of the story. In Bayou Moon, Kaldar's cousin Cerise finds her match in the werewolf William, and both characters appear over the course of this book as supporting cast. As do Jack and George, the younger brothers of the heroine in On the Edge. That's why it makes a lot of sense to have read both the previous books in the series before starting this one, quite a lot of essential back story is given there.

The main plot is not a romance, though, it's more a mix of a quest and a heist movie. If you like Ocean's Eleven with the clever protagonists and the witty banter, and characters constantly working to outsmart and one up each other, this should be right up your alley. Audrey and Kaldar are both very guarded and have dark pasts, and both are used to being the smartest person in the room. In some ways, they're almost too perfectly matched. The banter between them is a joy to read. The supporting cast, pretty much all comprising (as mentioned earlier) of characters introduced in the former two books, are all excellent too, and I laughed out loud several times over the course of the story.

The villains of the story are really very brutal, and there are some scenes of quite graphic violence. So be warned of that if you have weak stomach. While they are seemingly ruthless, they also have a clearly stated purpose, and they don't perform their gruesome acts randomly and without reason. That possibly makes them even scarier.

Generally, while the central romance in this moves more slowly and is in some ways less compelling than in the previous Edge books, the action and adventure plot is excellent, and this may be my favourite of the series, and also, one of my favourite Ilona Andrews novels, so far. As far as I could gather, they are only planning one more book in this series, to center around Kaldar's brother Richard, but if they were planning a spin off set some time in the future, I would love a book focusing on Jack and George when they've had a chance to grow older and even more awesome than they are in this book.

97. "The Windflower" by Sharon and Tom Curtis

2011-12-06T23:13:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Fanfare
Page count: 502 pages
Date begun: November 25th, 2011
Date finished: November 29th, 2011

The Windflower keeps appearing on All About Romance's Top 100 Romances, and is raved about on so many different romance review sites on the internet that I decided enough was enough, and went on Amazon Marketplace to track down a copy (the book was published in 1984, the book I have is from 1994, and the book's been out of print for ages).

I now see why it's so popular. This book has pretty much everything you'd want from an old fashioned romance novel - the heroine is grew up with a spinster aunt, lived a terribly sheltered life style, and has barely looked at a man before she's suddenly snogged by a dashing pirate when helping her brother try to identify British spies in some little shack not far from where she grew up. Some months later, when her English spinster aunt is taking her back to England (although the heroine is American, and terribly patriotic at that), she is abducted by ruffians and ends up on the pirate ship belonging to the half-brother of said dashing pirate who snogged her all those months ago. He thinks she's the mistress of his worst enemy, she thinks he wants to hurt her brother, who is working for the American revolutionaries.

As well as forced abductions, there are surly teenage pirates who turn out to have hearts of gold, an extremely manipulative pirate captain who knows more than anyone else, and clearly uses his pirate ship as some sort of unorthodox finishing school for the odd nobleman's son here and there, a varied band of pirates who while totally apparently totally ruthless, within about a week are all willing to die for the heroine's sake.

Merry, the heroine, veers between being very believably freaked out with the whole kidnapped by pirates thing, especially since her inexperienced little self barely knows how to react to the seductive tendencies of Devin, the pirate captain's mysterious brother, and being borderline TSTL, especially in her attempts to escape. So much badness happening to one young chit, you'd think she'd learn after the second escape attempt, when she's nearly killed from malaria!

In a romance novel written today, the hero would be a lot less douchy to the heroine. He really is very mean to her for most of the book, and keeps threatening to do horrible things to Merry, and seems vaguely puzzled when she's then terrified of him and actually believes he'll carry out his threats. Of course, the main couple would also have been having sex all over the place, while here Devin just tries to unsuccessfully seduce a woman he's pretty sure is an experienced strumpet, yet he can't bring himself to rape her, and Merry really has WAY more will power and resistance than any modern heroine - they always seem to waver a suitable amount of time before being overwhelmed by their desires and falling into bed with the hero. Merry holds out until she's married, even though Devin's proposal rivals that of Mr Darcy (the first one, NOT the second one, which is lovely) and Mr Rochester for total sucky unromanticness (it's a word - I'm an English teacher, I've decided).

A bit slow to start, the book is incredibly entertaining, and worth reading not even mainly for the main couple, who as mentioned before are a sheltered virgin and an imperious douche, but for the supporting characters, who are complex and conflicted and oh so dashing. It doesn't seem as if Tom and Sharon Curtis have written any romances about Devin's pirate captain half brother, Rand Morgan, or about Cat or Raven, two of the angsty, yet amusing teenagers aboard the ship. I'd read those books in a heartbeat.
This is a great book, well worth tracking down, even though it's out of print.

96. "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger

2011-12-06T22:37:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Vintage
Page count: 528 pages
Date begun: November 21st, 2011
Date finished: November 24th, 2011

Clare is 6 when she meets Henry for the first time, he is 36. Henry is 28 when he meets Clare for the first time, she is 20. Henry is a time traveller. Not in a cool Doctor Who sort of way, where he can travel where ever he wants in time and space. He keeps finding himself thrown either forward or backwards in his own lifetime, always ending up naked, and can stay in the other time for a few seconds, or several days, depending on circumstance.

Hence Clare is delighted when she finally runs into Henry at the library where he works. He's younger than she has ever seen him, she's known him and met with him countless times over the years, growing up. He gives her a list of all the dates when he will appear in the meadow behind her parents' house, so she can have clothes waiting for him in the woods. He helps her with her homework, listens to her troubles, even helps her get back at a douchy boy who hurt her, trying not to reveal to her too early (worried that he will warp her childhood irreparably) that in his present, she is his beloved wife.

The Time Traveler's Wife is obviously not a narrative with a linear plot, it jumps around a LOT. Sometimes there is more than one Henry in the story at the same time. Henry learns all the useful tricks and survival tactics he needs to get by from an older version of himself. I adore this book. I loved it the first time I read it, years and years ago, and decided to reread it to blog it for Cannonball Read. It's still great.

I don't care if the time travel plot device doesn't appeal to some readers, or that it may not consistently make sense within the narrative (a criticism I've read several places). I don't really care WHY or HOW Henry time travels, the important part is the beautiful portrayal of Henry and Clare and their heart breaking and wonderful love story. The first time I read the book, I cried buckets. This time, I managed to get by with just a sniffle, but the ending still gets me. Read the book, avoid the film adaptation like the plague. It sucks, and is just awful.

95. "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

2011-12-06T22:13:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Harvill Secker
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: November 17th, 2011
Date finished: November 19th, 2011

The Night Circus arrives unannounced, and without warning, the black and white striped tents appearing as if by magic. It's only open at night, and closes at dawn. Within the monochrome circus are the most amazing wonders imaginable - acrobats, trained animals, contortionists, fortune tellers, fairground rides where the animals you ride on seem to move, illusionists and more. Le Cirque des Rêves, once experienced is never forgotten.

Unbeknownst to most people, even the inhabitants of the circus, there is a magician's duel taking place behind the scenes. Celia and Marco, both trained from childhood, are magically bound to compete, with the circus and its members as their arena, until one of them emerges victorious. Neither of them chose this themselves, Celia's father and Marco's mentor have had magical battles through proxies multiple times before, but both are bound, long before they even know the rules, or where or how the battle is to take place. They finally meet, and fall in love, making their duel all the more difficult.

Yet The Night Circus is not really a romance. The main focus of the book is absolutely the circus itself, and the story of Marco and Celia's contest is only part of it. The circus becomes their magical playing field, where they strive to outdo, and later, to impress and express their feelings for each other. However, the book is about the people that founded the circus in the first place, about several of the people who are affected by it all over the world, about the extraordinary twins born within the circus on its opening day, and about one young American man who is particularly affected by it.

The Night Circus is a magical and lovely book which entertained me greatly, but I suspect it is not for everyone, and some people may find it overly twee and very annoying. It's set in Victorian times, but is obviously full of magic. The writing is almost lyrical at times, very poetic and descriptive, especially when it comes to describing the atmosphere of the circus itself. Don't read it if all you want is an epic romance, you will be disappointed. If you liked The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke, then you may also like this. If you hated them, or weren't able to finish them for one reason or another, I would read something else instead.

94. "Lioness Rampant" by Tamora Pierce

2011-12-06T14:45:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: November 5th, 2011
Date finished: November 14th, 2011

This is the fourth and concluding book in the Song of the Lioness series, and it really doesn't make a lot of sense or have much emotional impact if you read it without having read the previous three books, so I would recommend against it.

Alanna of Trebond is a knight, and has defeated her worst enemy in single combat. She's still a bit worried about using her magic because of the way the battle went, and things are somewhat awkward between her and Prince Jonathan, so she sets off to become a knight errand and do good deeds for the good of the kingdom. Once on a quest for the Dominion Jewel, a magical gem that can give limitless power to its owner (being all noble and selfless, Alanna is obviously going to give it to Jonathan), she meets a number of new allies and friends, and proves her heroic worth by achiving near impossible things.

Back in Tortall, Alanna's brother has raised the dead in an experiment gone badly wrong, and Jonathan has to prove his claim to the throne. George's reign as King of the Rogues is threatened by a deadly usurper, an old enemy of Alanna's. Alanna is needed by both of them, and faces great loss and huge challenges upon her return from her quest.

Ok, trying to recap the story without spoiling anything makes the book seem more lame than it is. As the final chapter in Alanna's story, I actually really liked Lioness Rampant and as the series started with her childhood, this is the book where Alanna becomes an adult in every sense of the word. She proves herself, to both those around her, and more importantly, to herself. She gains a confidence she previously lacked, and a much clearer idea of what she wants from her life and her future. She decides who her heart belongs to, but isn't entirely sure that she ever wants to settle down in one place for very long.

The supporting cast are in no way ignored by Pierce, and there are new additions that Alanna meet along the way who help her grow as a knight and as a woman. All the various story lines from previous books are tied off in a very satisfactory way, although Tamora Pierce has written other series in the same universe. I will have to check them out at some point as well, for now, I think I've covered my young adult fix for a little while.

93. "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star" by Heather Lynn Rigaud

2011-11-14T00:43:00.002+01:00

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Page count: 432 pages
Date begun: November 12th, 2011
Date finished: November 13th, 2011

In Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star, Jane Austen's most famous hero is not a repressed Regency gentleman, but the world famous guitarist and founder of rock band Slurry. He, his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam (on drums) and best friend Charles Bingley (lead singer and bass) are known for their wild partying, and seem unable to keep a support act for more than half a tour. They're about to embark on the biggest tour of their career, and need to find a new support act quickly. When they audition the girl band, Long Borne Suffering, featuring sisters Jane Bennett on vocals and bass, Lizzy Bennett on guitar and their best friend Charlotte Lucas on drums, they seem to have finally found what they're looking for.

Heather Lynn Rigaud takes the story of Pride and Prejudice and modernises it fairly successfully. Mostly, I think she took the characters of the original novel and gave them 21st Century personalities very successfully indeed. There's three separate couples who need to find their HEAs in this, and while I can totally see why a modernised version of the story needs to have sex in it, some of the sex scenes did seem a bit superflous, and got a bit repetitive after a while. A fun read, and a creative re-imagining of Austen's timeless classic, but again, I have to disagree with Publishers' Weekly that it was one of the best romances of the year. They clearly haven't read the same books I have this year.

92. "No Proper Lady" by Isabel Cooper

2011-11-14T00:43:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: November 8th, 2011
Date finished: November 12th, 2011

I picked up this romance because it was voted one of the best of 2011 by Publishers' Weekly, and because claimed it was "Terminator meets My Fair Lady." It's a surprisingly fitting description.

Joan is sent back several hundred years into the past, in a last ditch effort by humanity to save the world from an apocalyptic reality where otherworldly demons are destroying them. She is a warrior, and has to find and kill the man who doomed the world, before he has the chance to open the portals that let the demons into our reality and lost control. Shortly after completing the magic ritual that sends her to 1888, she rescues nobleman Simon Grenville from two hellhounds, and thereby gains his trust. The hellhounds were sent by Alex Reynell, Simon's childhood friend, and just the man Joan has been sent to assassinate.

Simon cut all ties with his former friend once he discovered just how dark the magic Reynell was using was, and because he had Simon's sister Eleanor possessed by a demon. Simon has taken Eleanor to the country to recuperate, and to stem the tide of gossip. He's surprised to find a bleeding, leather-clad warrior woman in a stone circle, but has surprisingly little trouble believing her stories about a where humans are prey to demons and monstrous creatures. He agrees to help Joan stop his former friend, but in order to get her close to Reynell, they will need to turn her from a savage warrior woman with knives and guns and leather trousers to a genteel Victorian lady with a corset, long gowns and impeccable manners.

While there is absolutely a romantic aspect to the novel, I think the fantasy/sci-fi elements are stronger, and would absolutely classify this as fantasy/sci-fi first, romance second. The world building is very good indeed, both the descriptions of the horrific future that Joan comes from, and the Victorian world where some people dabble in actual magic. Reynell is a very convincing and creepy villain, unsuspected by most people, and you never doubt that Joan has good cause to want him dead.

Joan is a good heroine, and while a tough warrior chick, very vulnerable in her new environment, where she quickly realizes that what little research she and her allies were able to do, is pretty much useless, and she is like a fish out of water in many ways. Simon, while he's also the hero of the piece, feels more like a supporting character for a lot of the book. He's very nice, but is never really given the depth that Joan is, and as a result, their romance becomes a less interesting aspect of the book. While I enjoyed it, and the Terminator meets My Fair Lady thing is a spot-on description, I have to disagree with Publishers' Weekly about it being one of the best romances (or fantasy/sci-fi novels) of the year. I would rank several others I've read this year, including Heart of Steel and The Black Hawk, which I read in the last few weeks, as much better.

91. "The Black Hawk" by Joanna Bourne

2011-11-14T00:43:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Berkley
Page count: 336 pages
Date begun: November 6th, 2011
Date finished: November 7th, 2011

This book can be read as a stand-alone, but will read much better if you've read some of Joanna Bourne's previous novels in the Spymaster series, especially last year's The Forbidden Rose, where several of the novel's characters are introduced, and you get valuable backstory about this novel's main characters.

Sir Adrian Hawkhurst, head of the British Intelligence Service, opens the door his headquarters to find Justine DeCabrillac, former French spy, (who happens to be one of his childhood friends, his former lover and one of his fiercest enemies all wrapped up in one), bleeding to death on his doorstep. The dagger that stabbed her is one of his, and to make matters worse, she has been poisoned. Adrian is not about to let the woman he has loved for most of his life die, and as well as keeping her alive, he needs to find out who tried to kill her, why she ended up on his doorstep, and who is trying to frame him for her murder.

Much of the book is told in flashback, going back to the final days of the French Revolution, when Justine and Adrian, then a former London street rat known as Hawker, were children. They met when they were 13, Justine an agent for the French Secret Police, Hawker a fledgling spy for British Intelligence. While their friendship blossoms, they both know they are on opposite sides of a war, and can never truly become close. Justine gives her little sister to Doyle, Hawker's mentor, to raise, as she is eager that the girl escape the harsh and unforgiving life she herself has been forced into. Because of this, she runs into Hawker from time to time, when visiting her sister in secret, or on missions for France. The two become lovers, trusting each other despite their opposing loyalties.

The framework story takes place in 1818, after Napoleon is defeated, and imprisoned. France and England are no longer at war, and Justine has retired from her life of international intrigue. She's opened a shop in London, and for three years, Adrian has known where she is, but they have never approached each other. Now, finally seeing a chance to win her, once and for all, he needs to figure out why someone is intent on destroying them both, and convince Justine to stay with him for the rest of their lives.

I've read all of the books Joanna Bourne has in print, and this, her fourth in the Spymaster series, is by far my favourite. It helps that Adrian, as a supporting character in the other books, has more or less stolen every scene he is in. Yet with such high expectations, there was every chance that this book would turn out to be a huge disappointment. I'm so glad it actually surpassed my expectations. Justine and Hawker's romance is epic and all the more satisfying because they are separated for so long, and have to work so hard to reconcile their differences and find their happy ending.

90. "The Woman Who Rides Like a Man" by Tamora Pierce

2011-11-13T22:57:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page count: 304 pages
Date begun: November 4th, 2011
Date finished: November 4th, 2011

Alanna of Trebond has defeated her enemy, the sorcerer Duke Roger, and also attained her life's goal. She is now a female knight, but a lot of the court were not pleased that she had masqueraded as a boy for the past eight years, and she feels that it may be best if she gets away from court for a while. She takes Coram, her faithful man-at-arms with her, and rides south, where she is soon adopted into a tribe of Bazhir tribesmen. After a series of complications, she also becomes the tribe's shaman, and cannot leave on further adventures until she has trained at least one replacement for the tribe. She sets out to train three youngsters with magical abilities, one hot-headed boy and in break with tradition, two girls.

Having finally achieved what she has worked for her entire life, becoming a knight, Alanna is very taken aback when Prince Jonathan comes to see her and proposes marriage. Can she give up her dreams of fighting, glory and knighthood to settle down and be a princess, providing heirs to the kingdom? There are also her feelings for George, King of the Rogues, to consider. Is he more to her than just a friend?

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man covers a shorter span of time than the previous two books in the Song of the Lioness series, but Alanna still has a lot of growing up to do. She's always been a bit afraid of her magical abilities, but when she becomes the shaman of the Bazhir tribe, she is forced to not only learn to control her own powers, but to teach others to use theirs, for the protection of the whole tribe. She has to determine what she wants for her life and future, and decide whether her love for Jonathan is strong enough that she can give up everything she ever dreamed of to become his wife. While I liked it, I think I preferred the previous two, but can see why this is an important installment in the series.

89. "In the Hand of the Goddess" by Tamora Pierce

2011-11-13T22:35:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page count: 288 pages
Date begun: October 31st, 2011
Date finished: November 3rd, 2011

Alanna of Trebond is still disguised as a boy, and has become the squire of her best friend, Prince Jonathan, who is one of the few that have discovered her true identity. At the beginning of the book, Alanna, receives a magical charm from the Mother goddess herself, and is told that she will need to learn to face her fears. Alanna fears three things - the Ordeal of Knighthood; Jonathan's uncle, the sorcerer Duke Roger, and love. She also acquires Faithful, a tiny black cat who seems to be able to communicate her directly.

The book follows Alanna from she's fifteen to eighteen, in the years before she (SPOILER) attains her knighthood. The kingdom goes to war, and as Jonathan's squire, Alanna fights at his side. She is abducted during the fighting, but uses her quick wits to escape, and manages to help solve the conflict once and for all. Yet even after the war, she remains restless. While she can't prove anything, she's convinced that Duke Roger is up to something, and that he means not only Prince Jonathan, but the King and Queen, harm. Yet she seems to be the only one who mistrusts him, and she has absolutely no proof of his treacherous nature.

As well as trying to protect Jonathan from real and perceived threats, Alanna trains towards her own knighthood. She still has to keep her identity a secret, but a few people close to her discover that she's a girl, and love starts becoming more of a distraction for her. As well as becoming a fighter, she starts wanting to explore a feminine side a bit more, and with the help of her friend George's mother, she learns to dress like a young woman, do her hair and learns the courtly manners of a Lady, not just a knight. The book is just as exciting as the first, and Alanna's development into adulthood, her battle to prove Duke Roger's evil, and her first love, are all things that keep the reader interested.

88. "Heart of Steel" by Meljean Brook

2011-11-13T22:10:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Berkley Trade
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: November 1st, 2011
Date finished: November 2nd, 2011

This is the second book in Meljean Brook's Iron Seas series, and while it can be read as a stand alone, a lot of the world building is established in the first book, The Iron Duke, as well as the first encounter of the protagonists of this book, so it's definitely better if you read that one first. Also, while the covers for these books are beyond awful, I promise that they are actually REALLY REALLY good. It's why I buy them as e-books, so I can avoid embarrassment on public transport.

Yasmeen is the legendary mercenary captain of the airship Lady Corsair, and refuses to cede authority to any man. When adventurer and explorer Archimedes Fox tried to threaten her and take control of his airship, she threw him over the side, into waters teeming with zombies. Now she has to tell his sister, the woman who's made him famous writing about his adventures, that Fox is most likely dead. As Yasmeen also killed the woman's father, she is not really looking forward to the encounter.

I'm spoiling very little by revealing that of course Fox is only mostly dead. He survived the horde of zombies, and now needs to get the very valuable da Vinci sketch he left on the Lady Corsair from Yasmeen, so he can pay off an old acquaintance and hopefully no longer be trailed around the world by assassins. He doesn't mind at all that Yasmeen killed his father in the past, he's grateful, frankly, and now feels that she would be the perfect woman for him to fall in love with. Having had his emotions smothered and blunted under Horde control, he's now determined to live life to the fullest and feel every emotion at its strongest, and he believes loving Yasmeen and probably having his heart broken by her would be a glorious adventure. As they need to travel through Europe together, avenging the deaths of her airship crew and trying to reclaim his stolen sketch, while looking for treasures and running from zombies, falling in love with the temperamental mercenary shouldn't prove too difficult.

The Iron Duke first established the world of Brook's Iron Seas - a Victorian era where the Mongol hordes took over huge amounts the world with their advanced technology, enslaving people with the use of nanobots in their blood stream. The oceans are filled with giant armor plated megalodons and krakens, much of Europe and parts of Africa are teeming with mindless zombies. Having been trained as a warrior, Yasmeen learned the hard way that most men could not be trusted, and felt threatened by her independence, self-sufficiency and strength. While her former lovers would desire her, they could not accept that she held the highest authority on board her own ship, and frequently tried to dominate her in front of her crew. Archimedes Fox is not such a man. He's attracted to Yasmeen because she is strong and capable and could quite possibly kill him if he so much as looked at her the wrong way. He's a thrill seeker and adventurer, and getting the dangerous and deadly Captain Corsair into bed would be his greatest achievement. He has no wish to outrank her on a ship, he just wants to be with her.

A lot less angsty and grim than the previous Iron Seas novel, Heart of Steel is an adventure romp. There are kidnappings, sneaky attempts at poisoning, witty banter, double crossings, explosions, bar fights, revenge quests, adventure, zombie attacks, huge amounts of sexual tension (the couple don't do anything but throw amazing quips at each other until the latter half of the book, they don't even kiss until the last quarter or so). I think I actually even preferred it to the Iron Duke, and can't wait until the next one comes out.

87. "Alanna: The First Adventure" by Tamora Pierce

2011-11-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page count: 240 pages
Date begun: October 31st, 2011
Date finished: October 31st, 2011

Alanna of Trebond doesn't want to go to a convent and learn magic, as per her father's wishes, she wants to become a female knight. Her brother Thom has no aptitude for fighting, and is better at magic than her, so when she proposes that she disguise herself as a boy, and they swap places, he has no complaints. Alanna convinces their man-at-arms to go along with the plan, and arrives in the capital as Alan of Trebond. She begins training as a page at the royal court, and makes both friends and enemies within her first few weeks there.

Among her friends, Alanna can count George, King of the Thieves, and Jonathan, the heir to the throne. None of them know her secret, but are impressed with how hard young Alan trains at fighting and scholarship. She gets through several years without anyone discovering her true identity, but when Jonathan becomes gravely ill, she may have to risk everyone finding out in order to heal him.

It's a great book, with a strong, determined and loyal protagonist, who risks her reputation to achieve her dreams of becoming a female knight. She's smaller and weaker than her fellow pages, and therefore has to work twice as hard to prove herself worthy. She's bullied by older, stronger boys, but refuses to let her friends fight for her, and figures out a solution on her own. When she breaks her right arm, she teaches herself to fight almost as well with her left. She constantly has to worry about others discovering her secret.

As far as I can tell on the internet, Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness books were a beloved fantasy series that shaped the adolescent years of many a young reader of both sexes. I never read them as a teenager, but can absolutely see why they are so adored. Alanna: The First Adventure has 524 five star reviews on Amazon, many from readers who discovered the books at a young age, and barely a negative review to be found. I wish I'd read the book when I was younger, but am very glad to have discovered the series now.

86. "Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels" by Sarah Wendell

2011-11-13T21:48:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Page count: 240 pages
Date begun: October 27th, 2011
Date finished: October 30th, 2011

Sarah Wendell, also popularly known on the internet as Smart Bitch Sarah, is the co-founder of the romance blogsite Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, which is one of several websites I discovered a few years ago, which helped me rediscover my love of romance as a genre. Readers of my book blog will know that I read a LOT of it, and Sarah Wendell, in this book, as well as in her previous novel, Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels, explains why it's such a hugely popular genre with women (and men) around the world.

Through interviews with a number of romance novelists, as well as countless readers, in the US and elsewhere, Wendell looks at why romance is such a widely selling genre, and why readers keep coming back to romance, even when it's one of the most maligned genres out there. She points out that most of the readers are not frustrated housewives or single, crazy cat-ladies, and that romance novels, rather than giving you a skewered view of real life romance and relationships, might actually better prepare you better for marriage and partnership than one might think. Women who read romance don't want to be abducted by a kilt-wearing Duke with a mullet, glistening chest and a kilt, but they enjoy reading about him, and when reading romance novels, they get an idea of what works for them in relationships, and what absolutely doesn't. Seeing the heroine keep making stupid relationship mistakes and wanting to reach into the book to slap her, might make one less inclined to make the same mistake.

EIKAL is a very well researched and wittily written book which should be read by anyone who enjoys the romance genre, and even more importantly, by those who are dismissive of it, and its readers, so they can discover that romance is not any trashier than most fantasy, sci-fi, suspense or crime novels out there.

85. "Girl of Fire and Thorns" by Rae Carson

2011-11-13T21:46:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Page count: 432 pages
Date begun: October 24th, 2011
Date finished: October 26th, 2011

Princess Elisa is married off to the king of a neighbouring country on her sixteenth birthday, in part to strengthen a military alliance. She's overweight and insecure and constantly feels inferior to her older, clever sister, and figures that the only reason she's the one marrying the king is because because she is this generation's "Chosen One". Elisa has a gemstone in her navel, a God-stone, that marks the bearer as having a great or significant task in their future. Elisa's lived a sheltered life, is nervous about being married off to a handsome man, and sent to his kingdom, far away from home. Her only comforts are food and books.

When Elisa arrives at her new home, she realizes that not only does her husband have a mistress, he's kept his new marriage and his alliance with Elisa's father a secret, even to his closest advisors. She soon discovers that, though her husband may be handsome, he's not necessarily a brave or decisive man. He neglects his son, and clearly tries to avoid confrontations, as much as possible. Elisa also discovers that nearly everyone in her new homeland knows much more about the God-stone than she, and that her sister and father, and pretty much all the people she's ever counted on and trusted, knew about the many prophecies regarding the Chosen One. Suffice to say, this doesn't make her feel any better about herself, or her murky future task.

Elisa's life changes dramatically when she is kidnapped by a small band of resistance fighters. She is taken on a long trek across the desert and held in a tiny border village, where the people are constantly ravaged by the ongoing war, without any help being sent from the king in the capital. The resistance group knows that Elisa has the God-stone, and hopes that she will be able to save them from certain death. How can Elisa, with her insecurity, book learning and inexperience, rise to the occasion and fulfill her destiny?

Girl of Fire and Thorns is the first book in what I'm assuming will be a trilogy (aren't they all these days, or longer?), but works perfectly well on its own, with a self-contained story. It's a great young adult book, as it provides a great role model for young women in Princess Elisa. While she starts out as obese and insecure, it's clear to the reader that she's a good and loyal person, and while she's hard on herself, she never wallows in self-pity for long, and she tries to make the best of the situations she finds herself in. She finds herself in a variety of dangerous situations over the course of the book, and never discovers hidden super powers, but shows incredible, realistic bravery in that she faces her challenges square on, refusing to run away or sacrifice others to save herself. Elisa is by no means perfect, but she's been raised to serve her people, and she knows that many of the bearers of the God-stone died either before or while they fulfilled their destiny, and she's determined to do her duty, even if it scares the heck out of her and may mean her death.

There's a supporting cast of great characters, too, who help fill out the story. Elisa's nurse, Ximena, is especially good. The plot has some surprising twists, and takes the "Chosen One" trope from classic fantasy in interesting directions. I will be looking forward to the sequels of this one.

84. "Daugther of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor (Read-a-thon 2011)

2011-11-13T16:10:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Page count: 422 pages
Date begun: October 23rd, 2011
Date finished: October 23rd, 2011

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

These are the opening words of A Daughter of Smoke and Bone and from the various rave reviews I'd read from the book, I thought I had some idea what to expect from the book. I didn't. Yes, this book is paranormal fantasy, and it's certainly partly geared towards a young adult audience, but it absolutely isn't Twilight or The Vampire Diaries or Vampire Academy or Wicked Lovely or any number of other successful romantic fantasy novels for teens. It's so much more, and I'm not even sure I can do it justice in a review - but I'll try.

17-year-old Karou is an orphan, living in Prague and attending an art college. Her friends know that she's secretive, and exotic, with her bright blue hair and tattoos, and they enjoy the wonderful creatures she draws on her ever-present sketchpad and the fanciful stories she tells about the places she supposedly visits in her spare time. They don't know that all her stories are true. When not being an art student, Karou runs errands for Brimstone, the seemingly monstrous creature who raised her, together with a host of other chimaera, half humanoid, half beast beings who have always been there for her, but refuse to tell her where she's actually from. Brimstone trades teeth from humans and every sort of animal known to man for wishes that can grant pretty much anything if they're big enough, and Karou has been all over the globe (the magic door in Brimstone's shop can take her anywhere) fetching everything from elephant tusks to snake fangs for him.

Lately, when she's off on her errands, she's noticed burned handprints over the doorways she uses to get back to Brimstone. She also has an encounter with a beautiful, but terrible angel, who tries to kill her when he realizes that she works for Brimstone. Desperate to figure out what is going on, Karou tries to spy on Brimstone when he walks through another door in his chambers, and she discovers a whole other world, but before she really gets a chance to explore, Brimstone catches her and throws her out. Before she has time to go back and beg his forgiveness, one of the tiny creatures who works for him, ends up at her window, dying of burns. The doorway to Brimstone's is on fire, and Karou is cut off from the only family she has ever known. When she encounters Akiva, the vengeful angel again, she no longer knows what to think, but it seems he might hold the answers to who she really is, and what has happened to her loved ones.

There is a love story in A Daughter of Smoke and Bone, where mortal enemies are inexplicably drawn to one another, and the romance was enough to take my breath away. There is also masterful storytelling and Laini Taylor does an amazing job with the world building. It helps that Prague, the initial location for the book, is a magical place even before you introduce paranormal elements. This was the last book I read during my Read-a-thon, and you'd think I'd be tired after reading for most of a weekend, but I couldn't put the book down.

Karou is a wonderful protagonist, mysterious, independent, inquisitive, strong and brave, yet also clearly a 17-year-old, who's not always nice, but can use the small wishes she gets in Brimstone's shop for petty things, like giving a girl she's jealous of a constant mono-brow, or giving her ex-boyfriend an itch in a really inconvenient place while he's nude modelling. She also uses her wishes for silly, frivolous things like turning her hair permanently blue, or removing tattoos she got on impulse. She's searching for the truth about her origins, not really happy when Brimstone and his associates keep them from her. However, when she finally does discover the truth about who she is, and where she came from, she understands why they kept the truth from her.

I don't want to say much more about the plot, because there are several twists and turns that should be not be spoiled. Readers should be aware that the story is by no means complete, and it ends on a big and emotionally gutting cliff hanger, which when I first put the book down made me like parts of it less. However, nearly a month after finishing the book, I'm still thinking about it all the time, and wanting desperately to find out what happens next. So I'm just going to recommend the book to as many people as I know, making sure they also read the book, and can share the painful wait for the next installment with me.

83. "Unclaimed" by Courtney Milan (Read-a-thon 2011)

2011-11-06T01:19:00.000+01:00

Publisher: HQN Books
Page count: 432 pages
Date begun: October 22nd, 2011
Date finished: October 22nd, 2011

Unclaimed is the second book in the series of the Turner brothers, the first brother's story was told in Unveiled. While this book can be read completely independently, there is back story about the hero, Mark in the previous book, and his story has more resonance if you start the series at the beginning.

Sir Mark Turner was knighted by Queen Victoria because of the book he wrote encouraging chastity. He is London's most sought after bachelor, and followed by misty eyed young maidens and eager reporters everywhere he goes. Sick of the attention, and the impression everyone has of him, Mark seeks refuge in the village where he grew up.

Jessica Farleigh is a courtesan, and desperately wants enough money to free herself from ever having to charm another patron. When a former lover offers to pay her to tarnish Sir Mark's reputation, she's happy to oblige, but she's on a strict time limit. What she thought was going to be simple, as all the men she's ever encountered were huge hypocrites, turns out to be quite the challenge. Sir Mark doesn't just preach chastity for gentlemen, he believes his own teachings. Yet he is instantly smitten with Jessica, believing her to be a widow fallen on hard times, and enjoys how vastly different from the prim, young virgins who normally get paraded in front of him.

While a virgin, and believing a man should control his desires, Mark doesn't deny the attraction he feels towards Jessica. He freely admits that he lusts for her, he just doesn't intend to act on any of the desires he feels. He's a good and honest and principled man and a very interesting hero in a romance. Jessica starts out detesting Mark, who seems to have everything handed to him on a platter, yet as she gets to know him, she realizes the reasons for his principles, and having to seduce him and discredit him in order to gain her own freedom and happiness gets harder and harder.

While not quite as engrossing as Unveiled, Unclaimed is still a very enjoyable read, and I like that Milan takes the time to really flesh out her characters. They're not just stock characters, they are complex and multi-faceted and all her characters TALK to each other. So many romances are hampered by situations that seem easily resolved if the main characters just communicated more, and that's never the case here. Milan's next book is about the third Turner brother, intriguingly named Smite, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

82. "Snuff" by Terry Pratchett (Read-a-thon 2011)

2011-11-06T00:57:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Harper
Page count: 416 pages
Date begun: October 22nd, 2011
Date finished: October 22nd, 2011

Sam Vimes has been dragged away from the job he loves as the Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch by his well-meaning wife, Lady Sybil, who feels he should get some air and familiarise himself with the estates they own. It doesn't take long before Vimes discovers a dead body and that all manner of foul play and injustice can take place in the idyllic country side, just as much as in the city. Determined to find the killer and set right those things that are wrong, he also needs to see if he can get his hands on a decent bacon sandwich, and possibly find some elephant dung for his precocious son to examine.

While always enjoyable, some Discworld novels are better than others. This is not one of Pratchett's best, and while he takes familiar characters out of their normal haunts, so that they can discover new things about themselves and others, too much of the plot of Snuff felt like a retread of previous novels in the series. In this book we learn that goblins are people too, Sam Jr is obsessed with poo because he is a small boy, and we are Vimes is and always will be a driven police man, and strongly dislikes being a Duke. His manservant is all sorts of awesome, too. Glad he got more to do in this one. Sadly, Pratchett has Alzheimer's, and while I hope he still has excellent and brilliant and original books in him, I'm not sure how many more he is capable of creating.

81. "Chime" by Franny Billingsley (Read-a-thon 2011)

2011-10-30T16:22:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page count: 368 pages
Date begun: October 22nd, 2011
Date finished: October 22nd, 2011

This is the first book I read during this year's Read-a-thon, and I first heard about it and discovered Franny Billingsley's books through Raych, a fellow Cannonballer (whose reviews and blog I now follow slavishly).

Briony Larkin has a big secret. Briony is a witch. It's her fault that her stepmother died three months ago, and it's her fault that her twin sister Rose isn't quite right. Briony can see and talk to the Old Ones (spirits in the swamp around the village), and she mustn't let anyone know that she's a witch, or the town council will try her and hang her. She must above all, remember to hate herself, and not let anyone close, and she must always take extra good care of Rose, or her secret may be revealed.

Staying aloof and lonely proves more difficult when Elric Claybourne, and his father, a city engineer come to town. Elric has been thrown out of university, and will stay in the house of Briony's father. He's charming and handsome and oh so friendly, and doesn't seem to understand that Briony can't and doesn't want to have any friends. Rose has a terrible cough, and Boggy Mun (the leader of the Old Ones) say that she could die from the swamp cough, like so many of the town's children before her, unless Briony manages to successfully stop Mr Claybourne and the other engineers from draining the swamp and building a train line through it. How can she explain to the town council what the Boggy Mun has said, without revealing her secrets and risking her life?

Chime is the second Franny Billingsley book I've read this month, and I'm so glad I discovered her. The cover of the book is awful, and makes it look like some sort of turn of the century Gossip Girl rip off, which it so isn't! Like The Folk Keeper, Chime has a strong yet lonely heroine, who needs to learn to accept help and friendship from others to discover how awesome she is, and that she deserves happiness, joy and affection. While with a slight supernatural twist, Chime is mostly a historical novel, where the heroine has to go discover her true worth, and is rewarded with love as well. The budding relationship between Briony and Elric is very sweet, but I especially loved the depiction of Briony's relationship with her twin sister (who clearly has Asperger's syndrome), and both her deep affection for her and need to protect her and wanting her troublesome sibling to just drop dead. This is a wonderful book, who everyone should read, and I plan to buy any other book by Billingsley immediately upon release.

80. "Queen of Kings" by Maria Dahvana Headley

2011-10-30T15:57:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Bantam
Page count: 448 pages
Date begun: October 17th, 2011
Date finished: October 21st, 2011

What if Cleopatra didn't die after Mark Anthony was defeated? What if she made a deal with a powerful goddess instead, and became an immortal, blood-sucking creature (who can shape shift into a giant serpent or a lion at will) determined on wreaking her vengeance on Emperor Augustus and the Roman Empire instead? Sounds like it should be a pretty fun book, doesn't it? Well, I'm sorry to say, Queen of Kings is not a lot of fun. It's an interesting idea, and Maria Dahvana Headley has obviously done a lot of historical research, but the book she's written is surprisingly dull, considering its subject matter, and I have absolutely no interest in reading any more in what promises to be a series, with the immortal Cleopatra as protagonist.

As I said, the premise is intriguing - when Mark Anthony's troops in Egypt are defeated, and he receives a message (sent by Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus of Rome) that Cleopatra is dead, he kills himself. Cleopatra, determined that Egypt will not be defeated, uses a dodgy translation of an ancient spell to summon Sekhmet, the lion-headed godess of cheerful things like slaughter, pestilence and chaos. In an attempt to save Mark Anthony and her beloved Egypt, she makes a pact with the goddess, but loses her soul and becomes a blood drinking monster, forced to do Sekhmet's bidding. Octavian/Augustus, who is both attracted to and despises Cleopatra, soon realizes what she has become, and turns into a paranoid lunatic to escape her vengeance. He takes her children with him to Rome, and hires witches and powerful spell casters to try to battle her.

The book is told from multiple points of view, from Cleopatra to Mark Anthony to Augustus to a whole bunch of other people, and sometimes switches around so fast that it gets confusing. I picked up the book because of the premise and the cover quote by Neil Gaiman (after all, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, also recommended by him, is all kinds of awesome), but finished it mainly out of stubborness and the hopes that it might get good as the story progressed. Really, she's a vengeful vampire who can shape shift, how do you make that boring? Tastes may differ, some people on Amazon at least seem to have really liked this book. I found it dreary, and would recommend others to stay away from this book. There's so much better paranormal fantasy out there.

79. "Cold Fire" by Kate Elliott

2011-10-30T15:37:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Orbit
Page count: 528 pages
Date begun: October 10th, 2011
Date finished: October 16th, 2011

This book is the second in a series, set in a really intricate and complex world. I would therefore in no way recommend you start with this one, and if you haven't read the first book in the series, Cold Magic, skip this review entirely to avoid both spoilers and confusion.

In a very long blog post at the start of the year, I tried to outline as much about the world in Kate Elliott's Spiritwalker trilogy, and the plot of the first book in the series, without spoiling too much of the main events.

This is the sequel, and the first chapter actually recounts the events of the final chapter of Cold Magic, something I've seen other reviews complaining about. Myself, having not read the previous book since January, I was quite grateful to be reintroduced to the world and the characters without having to pick up and reread the whole previous book.

Catherine "Cat" Bell Barahal and her cousin Beatrice "Bee" Hassa Barahal are on the run from powerful mages and all sorts of people who want to get their hands on them. Bee has prophetic dreams, that can both provide useful information to a number of ambitious factions, including that of the deposed general Camjiata (a bit like Napoleon), but also marks her out as a target for the Wild Hunt, where creatures from the Spirit World hunt down and kill people in the normal world. Cat seems to have escaped her arranged marriage, just as she's discovered that she has the potential of maybe loving her haughty but brilliant husband, has the ability to walk as easily in the Spirit world as in the normal one, and needs to discover the identity of her real father. When she does, she sort of wishes she hadn't. He places a binding on her, so she can't tell anyone who he is or what he's asked her to do, and then sends her to find a powerful magic user, or he's going to kill Bee when the Wild Hunt next rides.

The previous book was set in an alternate reality version of Europe, Cold Fire explores more of the world map, and most of the action takes place either in the Spirit World, where Cat discovers more about her heritage, or in an alternate version of the Caribbean, where the powerful cold mages of Europe have no dominion, and there are zombie like victims of the salt plague, and equally dangerous, ambitious and powerful fire mages hold sway. Cat meets her husband Andevai again in the most unlikely of locations, and slowly, while trying to figure out a way of saving her cousin and outwitting her supernatural father, comes to know and understand him better. Much more of the various political factions of the world are explored, but not that much happens in this book. The action is slow to start, there is a lot of putting pieces into play, but I suspect Elliott is mainly establishing plot points to be finished off in the last volume of the trilogy. Because I'm interested in Cat, Bee and Vai as characters, I will read the next one, but I hope it has more plot, and less "look at this shiny world I built with all it's similarities, yet differences to the real historical world".

78. "The Folk Keeper" by Franny Billingsley

2011-10-30T15:17:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page count: 176 pages
Date begun: September 30th, 2011
Date finished: October 10th, 2011

Corinna Stonewall is prickly, aloof, stubborn and vindictive, her hair grows two inches every night, and she has many secrets. Raised in an unkind environment in a children's home, she cut off her hair, pretended to be a boy and learned the skill of the Folk Keeper, someone who keeps the cave-dwelling, fierce and destructive goblin like creatures from souring the milk, harming farm animals and making food rot. Only boys can be Folk Keepers, so Corinna has to pretend to be Corin to gain the power and independence she so desperately craves.

One day, the dying Lord Merton comes to the children's home, wanting her to take over the Folk Keeper duties at his estate at Cliffsend. At the estate by the sea, Corinna is irresistibly drawn to the ocean, makes friends for the first time, and finally discovers who she is, and why she's never really fit in anywhere else.

The Folk Keeper is not a very long book, and the whole thing is written as Corinna's journal, chronicling first her duties as Folk Keeper in a little town and revealing her miserable childhood and the reasons for her abrasive personality, and later her discoveries at Cliffsend, and the slow changes her new life brings out in her. Corinna is a wonderful character, even in the beginning of the book, and she is so strong and self-reliant that as the book progresses and she learns that she can occasionally trust and rely on others, and her personality gradually softens and her life becomes happier, you cheer for her.

There is a romantic element to the book, but the most important aspect is a young, lonely girls process of self discovery and finding a place of acceptance and belonging. It's recommended audience is from 10 upwards, and I wish I'd had wonderful fantasy stories like this when I grew up.

End of event meme

2011-10-23T16:37:00.000+02:00

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Probably between 1 and 2pm, when I was getting really tired, and nearly fell asleep.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Chime, Snuff and Daughter of Smoke and Bone are all excellent.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I only really noticed all the stuff going on on the main website after the fact, as I am a newbie, so I haven't really had time to see all the stuff that's there. So no real suggestions.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Again, didn't really do much but read, but will absolutely check out the hourly updates next year.

How many books did you read?

Three and a quarter

What were the names of the books you read?

Chime by Franny Billingsley
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan
A quarter of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Which book did you enjoy most?

Of the ones I completed - Chime, but Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the one that's gripped me the most.

Which did you enjoy least?
I enjoyed all of them, but if I had to rate them, I enjoyed Unclaimed the least.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
Didn't cheer, but the people who left comments on my blog were all nice and very supportive. I'll turn off comments moderation next year, so the comments appear right away, as well.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again?

As long as my schedule permits it, I will totally be doing it again. I'm sorry I haven't before.

What role would you be likely to take next time?

No doubt about it, I'd be a Reader. like this time.

Finishing the Read-a-thon: Hour fifteen/twenty four

2011-10-23T14:17:00.000+02:00

So, in total I've read for fifteen out of the last twenty four hours. I completed three whole books, and little over a quarter of the fourth one. It felt really wonderful to dedicate so much of my time to reading, and if time permits, I will absolutely be doing this again next year. Now I just need to knuckle down and review the books I read, as well as the other three I have back logged. I may wait until I've finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone though, which is hella compelling. I must admit, discovering Raych's blog has certainly enriched my life in terms of reading. Two of the books I read in this challenge, I picked up because she reviewed them and loved them. Through her blog I also found out about the Read-a-thon, so it's all good.

You should all check out her blog, she's funny and writes in a wonderful stream of consciousness way (which you'd think I'd hate, since I can't stand Modernist writing) and I'm in awe of her ability to stay up and read, especially considering she's pregnant.

Books read in the last hour and a half of Read-a-thon: 129
Pages read in total in the last 24 hours: 1332 (Wow, I'm impressed with myself)
Books completed: 3, all of them good!
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Books partially completed: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (possibly the best of the lot)

Hour fourteen (or is it twenty three?)

2011-10-23T12:41:00.000+02:00

Slept a bit later than planned. Up now, had my breakfast. Will probably not blog again until the challenge is finished at 2pm/14:00.

Reading my first multi word title of the challenge: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a book I've been excited about since I read early reviews of it months ago.

Pages read so far this hour: Not many
Pages read in total: 1203
Books completed: 3

Hours twelve, thirteen and thirteen and a half

2011-10-23T03:42:00.000+02:00

Off to bed now, I think, having just finished Unclaimed. That's three for three I've read today that I enjoyed. Reviews to follow tomorrow.

If all goes according to my plan, I'll be getting up in time to read for at least another hour and a half tomorrow, as the Read-a-thon won't officially end until 2pm.

Pages read in the last 2,5 hours: 273
Pages read in total: 1203
Books completed so far:
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

The Eleventh Hour (See what I did there)

2011-10-23T01:16:00.000+02:00

People who know my husband (or fans of Doctor Who) will get the double meaning of the title. At this stage of the Read-a-thon, I'm feeling a bit silly. Still, reading along at a cracking pace.

Liking Unclaimed so far, and I'm especially intrigued as to why the heroine is so reluctant to be touched by anyone. An unusual quality in a romance heroine. The book still isn't grabbing me as much as Unveiled by the same author did, but I like it.

Pages read in the last hour: 85

Pages read in total: 930

Total books read so far: 2

Hour the tenth

2011-10-23T00:05:00.000+02:00

Just finished chapter four of Unclaimed by Courtney Milan, which looks to be an interesting read. Took a little break to browse the internets, and make myself a snack of carrots and dip. It's amazing how much faster certain genres are to read, though.

Pages in the last hour: 75
Pages read in total: 845
Books finished: 2

Hours eight and nine

2011-10-22T23:08:00.000+02:00

My, I have been doing a lot of reading. It feels wonderful, especially after not having had a lot of time to read in the last few months. Finally finished Snuff, with a few minutes to spare before the new hour.

Pages read in the last two hours: 159
Pages read in total: 774
Books finished: 2
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Just starting: Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Hours six and seven

2011-10-22T21:03:00.001+02:00

Still reading Snuff, enjoying it. Vimes books are nearly always ace, this is no exception. Seems Pratchett has decided to explore the lives of goblins in this one.

Had my dinner, should be able to press on with reading more quickly now, as I have fewer interruptions.

Pages read in the last two hours: 106
Pages read in total: 615
Books completed: 1
Chime by Franny Billingsley

Hour the fifth

2011-10-22T19:09:00.001+02:00

Still reading Snuff. Still a bit distracted by husband being Batman. He's going to a friend's for the evening, though, leaving me alone in the flat with the E-reader. So I should get more reading done in the next hour.

Pages read in the last hour: 80
Total pages read: 509
Books read in total: 1

Now I'm going to go make my dinner, and read while the pasta boils.

Fourth hour

2011-10-22T18:14:00.001+02:00

Reading Snuff, trying not to get distracted by my husband playing Arkham City. Book is good so far.

Pages read this hour: 61
Pages read in total: 429
Books read: 1

Read-a-thon: First three hours

2011-10-22T17:03:00.000+02:00

So the third hour of Read-a-thon is almost over. I must, in all honesty confess, that I did my first three hours of reading from 10am to 1pm (or 10 to 13, for those who understand that sort of thing), because I had to go to the gym today and do my zumba class. Yeah, if you'd told Malin of a year ago that she'd actually schedule reading around EXERCISE she would have laughed disbelievingly at you. But Malin of this year is a new and healthier person. Besides, my Saturday zumba class is the only exercise I've ever found that I actually find fun, so I wasn't going to give up on it, but I also didn't want to miss out on 3 hours of reading. The three hours, obviously, to get to the gym, do an hour of exercise, shower, run to the shops to stock up on snacks, and make dip.

I've finished my first book, the delightful Chime by Franny Billingsley. I absolutely loved it. Full review of all the books I read today will follow, along with a few books I've read in the weeks previously. Yes, I'm behind on my blogging. That's nothing new.

I'm just about to start Snuff by Terry Pratchett.

Pages read so far: 368 pages
Books completed so far: 1

Coming next Saturday: Participating in Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon

2011-10-14T15:23:00.001+02:00

While I know I still read a lot more than the average person (at least I'm frequently told that I do), I generally feel that since I started work again in August, I've had less time and energy to read, and this time last year, I'd read so much more. As my husband keeps pointing out that I should challenge myself more, I have decided to participate in a reading challenge - inspired by Raych on Books I Done Read (whose blog I love). Next Saturday, the 22nd of October, starting at 2pm (or 14:00, for those who use a 24 hour clock) I will take part in a 24 hour Read-a-thon, and devote as much of those 24 hours to reading as I can, while still not falling too far behind on sleep, as I do have work the following week, and can't really do all-nighters anymore without feeling seriously bad afterwards.

I'm in the process of compiling a list of books to read, and hoping to get through at least two or three in the assigned time, and still get some sleep in. I'm sure it comes as a surprise to no one that there will be fantasy and romance, we'll see what else catches my fancy.

Edited to add:

So far, I'm forcing myself to save these books until Saturday:
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (if I've been able to get it by then)

I doubt I'll be able to read more than five books, but if I do, it's not like I don't have a huge shelf full of books I've yet to read.

So watch this space, I will update as the challenge goes on.

77. "The Wild Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly

2011-10-09T22:03:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Hyperion
Page count: 640 pages
Date begun: October 2nd, 2011
Date finished: October 8th, 2011

The Wild Rose is the third book in Jennifer Donnelly's Rose trilogy, and while it can be read independently of the other two, it will be best appreciated if the reader has read the other two novels in the series, The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, first. As these two books are among my absolute favourite books of all time, I advise everyone to run out and read them, then come back and read this review.

On the eve of the First World War, Seamus "Seamie" Finnegan is a famous polar explorer, and the toast of the Royal Geographical Society. He's been on expeditions with Shackleton and Amundsen, and his sister Fiona wonders when he will finally settle down. Yet Seamie can't seem to forget the woman he loved, and lost eight years earlier, when they attempted to climb Kilimanjaro together. Willa Alden, little sister to his best friend, nearly died, and ended up losing one leg just below the knee. She disappeared shortly after, and he believes she's never forgiven him for having her leg amputated. When he meets the charming and kind minister's daughter, Jennie Wilcott, who attends suffragette's marches with his sister, Seamie convinces himself that he loves her, and that she's the right person to finally make him forget Willa.

Willa is numbing the her physical and emotional pain with morphine in a little village at the foot of Mount Everest, dreaming of climbing it, and taking spectacular photographs of the landscape that she sends back to the RGS. She supports herself by guiding European explorers in the area, and tries to forget her old life as best she can. When she finally gets a pile of letters letting her know her father is dying, she has no choice but to return to England, and facing the family and the man she left.

The Wild Rose concludes the trilogy about the Finnegan siblings, begun in The Tea Rose. As well as the story of Seamus and Willa, the book features Seamie's older siblings Fiona and Sid, and their families, and chronicles their lives in the period just before, during and after the First World War. The main story line concerns Willa, Seamie and the German playboy and industrialist Max von Brandt, who also loves Willa. Seamie becomes a captain in the Navy, and Willa travels through Egypt and North Africa with Tom Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

To say that this book was eagerly anticipated by me would be an understatement. I absolutely adored the two previous novels in the series, and waited for years for this concluding volume to be released. The two previous books, especially The Winter Rose, engrossed me so much I would forego food and sleep to get through them, I loved the story and the characters so much. The Wild Rose was not quite so gripping, but it was still a very comforting read, and Donnelly is a wonderful writer. While I found Seamie's story the least exciting of the three Finnegan siblings, it was very nice to be able to see how the lives of Fiona and Sid and their families had progressed, and I'm glad the story was concluded in a satisfying manner. Like the previous novels, the book depicts life in working class London at the turn of the century excellently, and Donnelly clearly does excellent research, with her strong, capable heroines travelling to a number of exotic locations and living adventurous and interesting lives.

76. "Heat Rises" by Richard Castle

2011-10-09T21:06:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Hyperion
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: September 25th, 2011
Date finished: September 30th, 2011

NYPD Detective Nikki Heat is trying to figure out why a parish priest was brutally tortured and killed in a New York bondage club. Her investigation takes her into the path of South American guerilla freedom fighters/terrorists, drug dealers, vicious CIA contractors, and also seems to piss off her Captain, who is clearly troubled by some of her discoveries. Having taken the lieutenant's exam, and clearly done very well on it, there may be a promotion in her future, if only she can survive the hired thugs sent to kill her.

There are further deaths, and as the trail suggests involvement from the highest levels of the NYPD, Nikki finds herself stripped of her badge, and left out in the cold. Luckily, she has help from her boyfriend, the successful investigative reporter Jameson Rook, and together they're determined to crack the case, solve the crime and get Nikki her badge back.

This is the third novel by Richard Castle, protagonist of ABC's weekly drama Castle. No where on the internet does it seem to reveal who actually writes these novels, which is a shame, because I would totally buy more of that author's works. The Nikki Heat books are frothy, entertaining and fun, with some violence and grittiness thrown in, just like in the TV show, and they're quick, exciting reads. I was especially interested in the ending of this one, which takes the characters in an intriguing direction. I hope that there will be a fourth one coming out around the time of Castle's fourth season, cause I'm well and truly hooked.

75. "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton

2011-10-09T20:52:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Pan Books
Page count: 645 pages
Date begun: September 17th, 2011
Date finished: September 24th, 2011

In 1913, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship from England to Australia. All she has with her is a little suitcase and a beautifully illustrated book of fairy tales, and she remembers that a pretty lady called the Authoress told her to hide on the ship, but otherwise she has no recollection of who she is. In 1975, the little girl has a daughter and a grandmother of her own, but travels to Cornwall to discover the truth about her identity. In 2005, Nell's granddaughter Cassandra is devastated by the death of Nell, and surprised to discover that among the effects left to her in Nell's will is the deed to a small cottage in England. She too travels to England to figure out why the cottage is significant.

The Forgotten Garden is the story of three generations and four women - Nell, her granddaughter Cassandra, and Eliza Makepeace, the mysterious Authoress and her beautiful cousin Rose Mountrachet. The points of view alter between Eliza, Nell and Cassandra, whilst the reader gets to know Rose through her letters, diary entries and through Eliza's eyes. Who is Nell really? Why was she abandoned on the ship to Australia? What was the significance of the book of fairy tales? What did Nell discover in England in 1975? Why did she leave the cottage in Cornwall to Cassandra?

Like in The House at Riverton, Morton deftly describes the lives of women spanning nearly a century and lives plagued with mysteries and secrets and melodramatic events. I still think this is the better book, though, and the alternating points of view as well as the interconnected time lines, interspersed with Eliza's fairy tales (I would give a lot to get a hold of a copy of the whole fairy tale collection, it's clearly marvellous), letters, diary entries and the like, really add to the story and kept me gripped. Had not my massive work load kept me from reading constantly, I suspect I would have finished the book in about two days. I'm very much looking forward to checking out Morton's next novel, The Distant Hours, when it's published in paperback.

74. "The Glass Demon" by Helen Grant

2011-10-09T19:58:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Puffin
Page count: 416 pages
Date begun: September 15th, 2011
Date finished: September 25th, 2011

Lin Fox and her family are moving to Germany for a year. Her father is a history lecturer who dreams of a glamorous TV career, and is taking his family with him on a sabbatical year in Germany after he was passed over for a promotion. While driving to the village they're to live in for the next year, Lin and her family come across a dead body. An old man is lying in an orchard, with a head wound, surrounded by broken glass. Lin's father and stepmother are not interested in being questioned by the police, so bundles Lin and her sister into the car and drive off, letting someone else report the death.

Lin's father is in Germany to find a set of legendary and rumoured to be nearly priceless stained glass windows, made by an artist in the Middle Ages. However, the Allerheiligen glass is also rumoured to be haunted by a demon, and anyone connected to them dies horribly. If Doctor Fox can actually locate the glass in rural Germany, his reputation would be guaranteed, and his career secured. Most people seem to think the glass was destroyed centuries ago, though, and the German historian who contacted Lin's dad is dead, drowned in the bath shortly before they arrived in the village.

Most of the villagers are generally hostile towards the English family, and while Lin seems to have made an admirer, Michel, who offers to drive her to school, even he seems to think that Doctor Fox' quest for the glass is a wild goose chase. As more people turn up dead under mysterious circumstances, all surrounded by broken glass, Lin's sister seems to get more withdrawn and insecure, multiple attempts are made to scare the family away, Lin starts wondering if the stories about the demon's curse are actually true.

My enjoyment of heroine's name notwithstanding (as a history buff it amused me greatly, but I can see why she insists on going by simply Lin), I was about halfway into this novel before I realized that it was a mystery novel, and not a paranormal fantasy. Both the title of the novel, and the blurb of the book seemed to suggest that there were paranormal elements to the story. So when they didn't appear, I was puzzled and I suspect it's part of why I may not have been as taken with this story as I could have been. The publishers should possibly have marketed this book differently, as if you're expecting paranormal fantasy, straight forward mystery is not really the same thing, and seemed like a bit of a let down, really. Approaching this book with actual knowledge of the specific genre might add to the reader's enjoyment. The ending of the book was also a bit ambiguous, I'm unsure if the author is setting up for a sequel, or whether the story is complete the way it is written. Either way, I don't know if I'm eager to read anymore about these characters.

73. "Archangel's Blade" by Nalini Singh

2011-10-09T19:19:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Berkley
Page count: 336 pages
Date begun: September 12th, 2011
Date finished: September 14th, 2011

This is the fourth novel in the Guild Hunter series, but can actually be read fairly independently from the other three. Still, for a more comprehensive understanding of the backstory of some of the characters, and a richer understanding of the world the story is set in, you may want to check out the three previous books, as well.

Dmitri is a vampire, and has been for nearly a thousand years. He's the archangel Raphael's right hand man, and controls the group of seven who guard and assist him. When the severed head of a newly turned vampire shows up with a mysterious, but distinctive tattoo, Dmitri knows that there is more to the case than just a simple scuffle. He needs help from the Guild of Vampire Hunters to decipher the symbols of the tattoo, however, and is intrigued at who they send to help him.

While a rogue archangel went crazy in New York, Honor St. Nicholas was kidnapped by a bunch of vampires and kept captive for months while they fed on her, tortured her and sexually assaulted her. She nearly died, but was saved by her colleagues in the Hunter's Guild, and has slowly been trying to build herself up again. Still scarred, both physically and mentally, she's not sure she's ready for an active assignment, but as one of the Guild's foremost experts on ancient texts and languages, she is the person Dmitri needs to identify the mysterious tattoo. Before her accident, Honor had a strange obsession with the powerful vampire, trying to find out as much as she could about him. Now she has to work closely with him, while trying to get over her fear of vampires.

Romances where the heroine is getting over a trauma are difficult. It's clear that at some point, the heroine needs to heal and get stronger, better and confident again, or there is no real chance of a Happy Ever After. Yet, hurry that recovery along too fast, and the story becomes unbelievable. Now, I'm not saying that I'm not willing to suspend my disbelief a bit when it comes to romance, far too many stories the couple fall madly and passionately in love and decide they want to spend the rest of their lives together in less time many would take to choose a room mate or select a new home, and because I'm entertained, and the story is well written, I'm willing to take that with a grain of salt. Here, however, quite a lot is made of the horrors that Honor experienced. She really did go through hell. She has trouble trusting anyone, even her closest friends. Yet a couple of meetings with Dmitri, and she's pretty much good as new, if not better than before. The main problem is that the story is set over too short a period of time. Had the story spanned several months, preferably longer, then yes, I might have been convinced that Dmitri could draw Honor out of her traumatized shell, and made her heal and realize that she was still strong and capable and that not all vampires and/or men were untrustworthy. This just went too fast.

There is also a subplot concerning Dmitri's long dead wife and family, and how remembering them is creating difficulties with regards to his attraction for Honor. I think the way Singh resolved this was a bit too "having your cake and eating it too", which felt like a bit of a cop out. I would have liked to see her be braver about the resolution of the romance, which would have made the ending feel stronger and more satisfying. All in all, this was an entertaining book, but clearly the weakest of the four Guild Hunter novels so far. I hope the next one is better.

72. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

2011-10-09T18:51:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Quirk Books
Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: September 5th, 2011
Date finished: September 7th, 2011

Jacob is a teenage boy who as a child was enchanted by all his grandfather's tales of the strange island where he grew up, and the many peculiar children he used to play with. His grandfather had a box full of old photographs of odd looking individuals, and would happily tell Jacob about them for hours. As Jacob grew older, he started realizing how far fetched the stories sounded, and how fake and clearly manipulated the photos were. Yet when his grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances, and Jacob thinks he sees a hideous slavering monster near his dying body, it's suddenly not so clear what is truth and what is fiction. Jacob's parents, and his very well-meaning therapist work as hard as they can to convince him that his grandfather's stories and the thing he saw were nothing but tall tales and hallucinations, brought on by stress and fear, but there is still a kernel of doubt in Jacob.

Having found a letter to his grandfather from a Miss Peregrine, the proprietor of a children's home on an island outside Wales, Jacob convinces his dad that they should go there, and find out more about his grandfather's past. On the remote island, it is clear that there was once an orphanage, but it's now a complete ruin, and has been abandoned since the Second World War. Jacob explores the bedrooms and basements of the crumbling house, and finds more pictures and evidence of his grandfather's tales. He discovers that the children his grandfather talked about may have existed, and there are signs that some of them may still be on the island, as unlikely as that may seem.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a picture book, where the many photographs collected by Ransom Riggs, make up an integral part of the story. There are countless photographs that help illustrate the narrative, and I don't think the book would have been as enjoyable without it. The book lags a bit in places, but once Jacob arrives on the island and starts really investigating, it becomes an entertaining read, and I'm curious to see where the story progresses, as there is clearly a sequel or sequels coming.

71. "The Unwritten vol 1-3" by Mike Carey and Peter Gross

2011-10-09T18:34:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Vertigo
Page count: 462 pages
Date begun: September 7th, 2011
Date finished: September 8th, 2011

Vol 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
Vol 2: Inside Man
Vol 3: Dead Man's Knock

Tom Taylor is the inspiration behind his father, Wilson Taylor's hugely successful fantasy series about Tommy Taylor (very much in the vein of Harry Potter). His father disappeared at the height of his success, and Tom makes a living appearing at comic book and fantasy conventions. He's bitter about the abandonment, and feels that the only thing his father ever gave him was a head full of useless trivia about literary geography. Tom's life takes a turn for the puzzling and strange, when at a convention, a young woman, Lizzie Hexam, claims Tom is not Wilson's real son, and that he is in fact an impostor.

When he goes to Switzerland, to the villa where his father wrote the Tommy Taylor novels, and where Wilson Taylor was last seen, he ends up being accused of murdering a group of mystery and horror writers, who had been attending a writer's convention at the house. Tom is sent to prison, not realizing that the brutal murders were committed by Pullman, a sinister man who can turn people or things into text by just touching them. In prison, he befriends Savoy, a reporter placed in the prison to write an insider's perspective on prison life and Tom. It is clear that there is a lot more to his father's disappearance, and his own identity than Tom first suspected. He's convinced he saw the flying cat from the Tommy Taylor adventures sitting in a tree when he was arrested, and occasionally, the magical sigil that protects Tommy in the books, appears as a tattoo on his hand. Lizzie Hexam also clearly knows more than she lets on, and appears to be in contact with the missing Wilson Taylor. Who is Lizzie? Who is Tom really? Why did his dad disappear? Who is the shady organization that framed him for murder, and wants to get to his dad?

I've been a fan of Mike Carey's for a long time. I like his Felix Castor novels, I think his run on Hellblazer was very enjoyable, and I think Lucifer is probably one of the best Vertigo graphic novel series ever, after Sandman and 100 Bullets. So when rave reviews started coming in about The Unwritten, I was eager to check it out. So far, it's great, and while the first three trade paperbacks are thin (collecting the first 18 issues of the comic), there is a lot of story development. I like the riffs on popular young adult fantasy, with elements not just from Harry Potter, but all sorts of clever things. There's obviously a huge amount of literary references in the comic, not just to fantasy, and Carey has interesting things to say about the nature of fame and celebrity and how we interact with books and other media in this day and age. The covers to the comics are all gorgeous, and the art by Peter Gross is very suited to the book. I'm eagerly awaiting volume 4: Leviathan, and can recommend this comic to pretty much anyone interested in clever, entertaining storytelling.

70. "The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton

2011-10-09T18:10:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Pan Books
Page count: 599 pages
Date begun: August 29th, 2011
Date finished: September 4th, 2011

During a lavish party on the grounds of Riverton Manor, the famous poet Robbie Hunter commits suicide in 1924. The only witnesses to the event, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, never spoke to each other again, and both women died within a year of the poet. Only one other person, Hannah's maid Grace, knows the truth about what really happened that evening.

In 1999, a film is being made about the tragic events, and the director is wanting to speak to Grace, the only surviving person from that night, to find out the truth of what happened. Grace is 98 years old, and living in a home, but all to clearly remembers her life at Riverton, from when she came there as a chamber maid in 1914. Talking to the director stirs up her memories, and as she doesn't want to die before confessing her secrets, she records her memories on tapes for her grandson, Marcus, wanting him to know the truth about her life and the events that led to Robbie Hunter's death.

The story switches between Grace's life in the past, starting in 1914, when she is hired as a maid at the manor. Grace's mother had previously been a maid there, and several of the staff fondly remembers her. Grace is well aware of her place, but is very taken with the three Hartford children, the grandchildren of the current earl. She observes them from afar, and develops a close bond with Hannah, the eldest of the Hartford sisters. Later, when Hannah gets married, she becomes her ladies' maid.

The other half of the story recounts Grace's current life, and gives glimpses into the life she lived after she stopped being a maid, got an education, got married and had a child of her own. Grace was never too attached to her daughter, but clearly loves her grandson very much. She is worried about him, and determined that he know all her secrets, so he can get a complete picture of where he comes from.

The House at Riverton is the first novel I've read by Kate Morton, but I can see why she's so popular. The intercutting of present and past in the novel keeps the reader interested. There's a definite touch of melodrama in the novel, with scandals, unfaithfulness, sibling rivalries, the after effects of the First World War, and of course, deep dark secrets. Some are not really supposed to be secret to the reader, there were at least a couple that were very clearly hinted at in the narrative, and only the slowest glue sniffing kids at the back would be surprised at the reveal of some of them (for instance the identity of Grace's father), but it was incredibly entertaining, and I can see why her novels are so incredibly popular. I will certainly seek out more of them.

69. "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts" by Louis de Bernieres

2011-10-09T17:48:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Vintage
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: August 17th, 2011
Date finished: August 27th, 2011

This is the first of de Bernieres' Latin American trilogy, set in a fictional South American country, heavily resembling Colombia (but with elements from many other Latin American countries as well). The plot follows multiple story lines and protagonists, including several villagers in the town of Chiriguaná, who are terrorized by corrupt militia, and the selfishness of the local landowners, and eventually decide to fight back. Other parts of the story show the terrible corruption of the military, with thousands of ordinary citizens of the country disappearing without a trace, being tortured and killed in the hunt for dissidents and communists.

The story mixes horribly graphic descriptions of violence, rape, torture and death with humour, colourful descriptions and magical realism. During the course of events, the village of Chiriguaná is suddenly overrun with huge amounts of black cats who grow to be the size of panthers. There's even occasions where donkeys and women give birth to black kittens. It's a wonderfully written book, but not exactly an easy read, and it took me longer to get through than I had expected, simply because the subject matter was both wonderful and horrible, and while fictionalized, clearly based on real events that have taken place in South and Latin America in the last half a century. I was planning on reading the trilogy in one go, but felt I had to space out my reading more after finishing this one. Can absolutely be recommended, but is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

68. "Since the Surrender" by Julie Anne Long

2011-08-15T00:14:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Avon
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: August 13th, 2011
Date finished: August 14th, 2011

Captain Chase Eversea is an acclaimed war hero, but feels restless and without purpose since returning home after Waterloo. When he is sent to London to acquire a new vicar for Pennyroyal Green, his paths cross with the woman he's never been able to forget, Mrs. Rosalind March. While she was married to his commanding officer during the war, Chase and Rosalind let passion take precedence over honour and shared one searing kiss.

Now Rosalind is a widow, and her sister has gone missing after being arrested for petty theft. Rosalind turns to the most capable man she knows to get help in finding her. Chase is ashamed of his past indiscretion, but still finds Rosalind enchanting, and can't resist her pleas for assistance for long. He plans to sail to India to join the East India Company in two weeks, but offers her whatever help and protection he can in the meantime.

While Rosalind and Chase were both engaging characters, their romance just didn't interest or hold my attention in the same way as most of Long's other couples have. Add to that the fact that the plot in many ways reminded me of the far more entertaining story of Chase's younger brother Colin (The Perils of Pleasure), yet had a much less satisfying conclusion - the reveal of what has happened to Rosalind's sister just falls a bit flat for me. Still, I didn't actively dislike it or anything, and one less great book in a series of so far five books is not bad.

67. "Like No Other Lover" by Julie Anne Long

2011-08-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Avon
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: August 8th, 2011
Date finished: August 9th, 2011

When Miles Redmond first set eyes on Miss Cynthia Brightly, he was instantly smitten, yet his attraction waned when he overheard her tell a friend that she would never set her sights on a mere second son. Two years later, Miles is the heir to the huge Redmond fortune, thanks to his brother Lyon's disappearance. Cynthia is attending a houseparty at their home, and needs to find a rich husband quickly, before word gets out about the scandalous way in which her betrothal to the heir of a Duke was dissolved.

Miles tries to tell himself that he feels nothing for the stunning and opportunistic Cynthia, and wants to get his own back at her for the slight he suffered years earlier. He offers to give Cynthia useful information about the various eligible men at the party so she can make a match in two weeks, in return for one kiss.

Of course Cynthia is a lot less shallow and materialistic than Miles first believes, and of course one kiss is not enough. During the course of the two weeks, it becomes more and more difficult for Miles to help Cynthia find a husband, as he wants her for his own. But as the heir to the Redmond fortune, Miles can't make a match with a penniless woman with a scandalous reputation, even when she takes his breath away.

Yet another very fast and entertaining read. I've been reading a lot of romance over the last month, since my mind is bombarded with so much misery on the news, and Long's books are a wonderful escape from reality. She always writes engaging protagonists and brilliant dialogue. While this book didn't make me make the Good Romance Novel Noise (TM Sarah Wendell at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) in the way Long's two latest did, it was very good, and I can see why she's so popular.

66. "The Perils of Pleasure" by Julie Anne Long

2011-08-14T23:31:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Avon
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: August 9th, 2011
Date finished: August 12th, 2011

Julie Anne Long has written five books in her Pennyroyal Green series so far, and I obviously started at the wrong end, with book 4, I Kissed an Earl, and book 5, What I Did for a Duke. Not that you in any way need to read these books in order, they are all self contained, but it was fun to get minor background details on characters I'd already read about and had seen get their happy endings.

Colin Eversea is about to be executed for killing a man in a bar. Always the scoundrel of his family, with many notorious exploits to his name, he nonetheless did not commit the crime he's accused of, and the only witness to the event has disappeared without a trace. In five days' time, his older brother Marcus is set to marry the girl Colin has loved most of his life. So when he cheats death thanks to a daring rescue operation, he is determined to clear his name and travel back to Pennyroyal Green in time to stop the wedding.

Madeline Greenway is a beautiful widow who makes her money planning and carrying out difficult operations for anyone willing to pay the price. Snatching Colin Eversea from the gallows is her proudest achievement so far. Shortly after the rescue, however, instead of the payment she's expecting, someone tries to shoot her. Colin saves her life. Having bought a farm in America, ready for a new life, Madeline needs the last payment for the rescue to fund her passage across the Atlantic. She reluctantly agrees to help Colin clear his name as he promises his family can pay her more than her missing fee.

Together Madeline and Colin travel through London, always one step ahead of the authorities hunting him. With the reward for Colin's recapture set at a hundred pounds, there are many who would want to get their hands on the charming and handsome Mr. Eversea. During the course of the story there are duchesses, footmen, grave robbers, shifty fences, and obviously blossoming romance between the couple. A very entertaining read, highly recommended for anyone wanting a quick, frivolous adventure/romance.

65. "Stolen: A Letter to My Captor" by Lucy Christopher

2011-08-14T23:10:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Chicken House
Page count: 304 pages
Date begun: August 7th, 2011
Date finished: August 8th, 2011

British sixteen-year-old Gemma is travelling with her parents in Asia and waiting for a transfer at Bangkok airport. Here she is drugged and abducted by Ty, a twenty-something-old man who takes her to the Australian Outback, far away from civilisation and everything she knows. As the book progresses, Gemma realizes that Ty's not selected her at random, he's been watching her and planning for years. He doesn't hurt her, or molest her, but claims he loves her, and that she'll spend the rest of her life in the wilderness with him.

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor does, as the title suggests, take the form of Gemma's letter to her abductor. We follow her from what she believes is her first encounter with Ty at the airport, where the handsome young man ("I didn't want to repulse you") buys her a coffee. The book has no chapters, and is a very compelling, if at times, uncomfortable read. Ty is a very intense young man, with a difficult background. He may be a stalker and a kidnapper, who claims to love Gemma with a scary intensity, but he never makes any sexual advances towards her, and treats her with quiet solicitude. He sees the Outback as a paradise, and most of his experiences with city life are negative. He can't see why Gemma won't see the beauty of the rugged and lonely landscape and realize how lucky she is to stay there with him. His thought is clearly that as long as she gets used to it, and him, she'll happily share a life with him there.

Gemma, of course tries to escape, only to have to realize that she is too far away from anywhere. As her time in captivity passes, she reluctantly gets to know Ty better, and starts to sympathize more with him. Is this the start of an unusual romance, or just Stockholm Syndrome?

Stolen is an unusual book, and while uncomfortable in places, I also found it hard to put down. I read started it late at night, and pretty much read it in one sitting the next day. Christopher's description of the Australian landscape and her characters is excellent, and the subject matter is certainly something out of the ordinary (it came out the year before Room and while both are about abductions, I think they're very different books). I can strongly recommend it.

64. "The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire" by Rick Riordan

2011-08-14T19:49:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Puffin
Page count: 451 pages
Date begun: August 6th, 2011
Date finished: August 7th, 2011

This is the second book in the Kane Chronicles, and this review may therefore contain some spoilers for the previous book, The Red Pyramid. You probably want to go read that one first, although it's by no means a requirement. You get the events of the previous novel neatly summarized in case this is your first meeting with the Kane siblings.

It's been a few months since their last adventure, and Sadie and Carter Kane now have a whole slew of students at their headquarters in Brooklyn, dedicating themselves to various Egyptian gods and slowly learning to control their own magical powers. Yet again, the siblings have to set out on a quest with a very tight deadline, as Apophis, the embodiment of chaos, is about to escape his prison in four days' time, and when he does, he will swallow the sun and cast the world into chaos. The only way to prevent this, is for the Kanes to locate the three parts of the Book of Ra, so they bring the old king of the Egyptian pantheon back to fight Apophis.

Cue another quest, with many exciting action sequences, multiple international locations, among them St. Petersburg. The Kane siblings split up more in this book, and as always, the narrative alternates between Carter and Sadie. While looking for the Book of Ra, Carter keeps receiving warnings that bad things will happen to Zia, the girl he fell in love with in the previous book. He's obsessed with finding her, and Sadie has her own troubles, with her thirteenth birthday ruined by a giant vulture and baboon chasing her and her friends through London, and her adolescent heart torn between one of the new trainees, Whit, and the immortal Anubis.

Like the last one, this book introduces its readers to a whole host of Egyptian gods, both minor and major and explains several rather difficult concepts while still being entertaining action romps. I suspect these books may appeal to a slightly older age group than the Percy Jackson series, as there is more ambiguity and more complex issues are adressed in them. I certainly enjoyed it, although it does drag and can get a bit repetitive at times with the "new location, danger, kids get out of danger". I also discovered, during my browsing of the Internets, that there is just one more volume in this series. Having assumed that it was going to run to five books, like the Percy Jackson books, I'm delighted that I'll be able to read the conclusion to the trilogy some time next year.

63. "Spell Bound" by Kelley Armstrong

2011-08-14T19:18:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Orbit
Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: August 4th, 2011
Date finished: August 6th, 2011

This is book 12 in the Women of the Otherworld series, and while Kelley Armstrong's books previously have been pretty stand alone from each other, this one will make little to no sense unless you've read at least Waking the Witch, and preferably also Personal Demon, No Humans Involved, Broken and Haunted. So there will absolutely be spoilers for the previous book. If you haven't read it, skip this review, and go read Armstrong's back catalogue instead. It's pretty much all excellent.

Savannah Levine, daughter of a very powerful witch and a sorcerer, has lost all magical ability, and is unsure of how to handle herself, having always relied on her magic in all aspects of her life, especially when working for her guardians' investigation firm. There's a witch hunter after her, who doesn't realize that Savannah is powerless now, and Savannah wishes she'd paid more attention to traditional self defence and investigation technique. Her various supernatural friends cannot find a reason for her sudden loss in powers, and once it turns out that the witch hunter is the least dangerous of the ones wanting their hands of Savannah and several of her friends, she'll need to figure out how to get her magic back, so she can help out in what looks to be a supernatural war.

Savannah has been a supporting character in several of Armstrong's earlier books, and got her first "starring role" in last year's Waking the Witch. While she's 21, Savannah is also self-centered, immature and quite annoying at times. Considering the very privileged life she has led, she should be a lot more grateful, and less of a spoiled brat. This is clearly intentional, as Armstrong has not one, but several other characters tell Savannah to get the heck over herself and start growing up in this book. Which she appears to be doing, with minute baby steps.

For long time readers of Armstrong, this book pretty much features every single character who we've met in her universe before: Elena, Clay, Jeremy, Jaime, Paige, Lucas, Cassandra, Hope, Karl, and of course, Adam. Most of them have little more than cameo appearances, several of them feature much more prominently in Industrial Magic, for example. Still, this story is clearly mainly about Savannah, and her development into one of Armstrong's strong and admirable heroines. This book is clearly also the middle installment in what will be a trilogy. It starts immediately after the end of the previous book, and ends with most of the threads introduced in this book unresolved. According to the internet, the concluding book, not just to the trilogy, but to Armstrong's entire Women of the Otherworld series, will be out next year. As someone who's followed her series for nearly a decade, I will be reading that one as well, even if this was one of the less engaging of the installments.

60-62. London's Greatest Lovers trilogy by Lorraine Heath

2011-08-14T03:29:00.001+02:00

60. Passions of a Wicked Earl
61. Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman
62. Waking Up With the Duke

Publisher: Avon
Total page count: 1152 pages
Date begun: July 29th, 2011
Date finished: August 4th, 2011

Lorraine Heath's London's Greatest Lovers trilogy feature the three sons of the scandalous Duchess of Ainsley. Her eldest son is the Earl of Westcliffe, her middle son is the honorable Stephen Lyons and her youngest son is the Duke of Ainsley.

Passions of a Wicked Earl

Morgan Lyons, the Earl of Westcliffe, has been estranged from his wife Claire for three years. On their wedding day, he found her in the arms of his younger brother Stephen, and he has never been able to forgive her. He exiled her to his country estate, and has become infamous for his love affairs in the years since. Now he's starting to consider divorce, so he can marry his current mistress.

Claire was barely eighteen when she married Westcliffe, in a marriage arranged since she was a girl. Nervous about her wedding night, she went to her best friend Stephen for advice, and seeking comfort in his embrace went badly wrong for her. Now she wants to give her younger sister a season, determined that her sister get to choose her own husband. She shows up on Westcliffe's doorstep, ready to finally be his wife, and is not at all pleased that he wants to end their marriage before they've even had a chance to have a proper one. She gets him to agree that she can stay in the house for the Season, and needs to seduce her husband in order to save her marriage.

I really liked both protagonists in the book, especially Claire. My biggest problem with the book was the continued presence of Westcliffe's mistress. While he doesn't sleep with her after Claire comes back into his life, there are multiple scenes with her, and it's difficult to really like and sympathise with a man who's so blind to what a complete shrew this woman is. I get that she needs to be unsympathetic, to act as an antagonist to Claire, but the scenes featuring her were all tiresome and boring, and took away some of my enjoyment of an otherwise good romance.

Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman

As the only son of the Duchess of Ainsley without a title, being the second son of an Earl, Stephen Lyons was always determined to at least be better at lovemaking than either of his brothers. Regretting the estrangement he caused between his brother Westcliffe and his dear friend Claire, he decides to redeem himself by joining the army. He proves to be a courageous soldier, but is badly injured, and is brought home two years after he went off to the Crimea with an aching leg and complete amnesia about those two years. So he has no memory of the lovely woman who shows up on his family's doorstep with a baby she claims is his.

Mercy Thompson was a nurse who travelled to the Crimea with Florence Nightingale to make a difference. When she returns home with a baby, her reputation is ruined and her father wants nothing to do with her. Believing Stephen, the soldier she admired and fell in love with after one life changing night, to be dead, she wants his family to at least have his son as a reminder of him. So her shock is great when he turns out to be alive, yet he clearly doesn't remember her or anything about his time in the army. Her father demands that Stephen do the right thing, and restore his daughter's honour by marrying her. Yet Mercy hasn't told Stephen the whole truth about their night together, and while she loves him, she is worried about basing their marriage on a deception.

While a perfectly ok read, Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman was the least enjoyable book in the trilogy, probably because Stephen was the lesser of the three brothers. Always his mother's favourite, and given free rein to do whatever he wanted, while his two brothers tried to be responsible, he just seemed a bit spoiled and self-centred. As the book commences AFTER his time in the army, his bravery becomes a matter of "tell, not show". All the stories of his exploits are told to him by other people. He spends far too long agonizing over his missing memories, and risks his happiness and marriage to regain his memories. Also, when he does find out what Mercy has been hiding, he acts like a complete dick, and frankly, I think she could've done much better than him.

Waking Up With the Duke

The improbably named Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, owes a debt to his cousin, the Marquis of Walfort, after a drunken carriage ride two years earlier landed the latter in a wheelchair, while Ainsley escaped with barely a scratch. In the distressing time after her husband's accident, Jeyne, the Marchioness of Walfort, lost the child she carried.

Lady Jayne (yup, the heroine is ACTUALLY called Jeyne Seymour) hates Ainsley and blames him for the accident, her childlessness and the lonely existence of duty and self sacrifice her marriage has become since her husband became paralyzed from the waist down. Now the Marquis has decided that Jeyne would clearly be happier if she had a child, something he can't give her. So he wants Ainsley to father the child instead.

The plan is that Ainsley and Jayne spend a month together, and make love enough times to ensure she gets pregnant. Ainsley is shocked by the proposal, but very attracted to his cousin's wife, so he doesn't protest that much. Jeyne is absolutely appalled, but after a bout of emotional blackmail, pretty much, agrees to the crazy scheme. No points for guessing how long she manages to sustain her hatred for Ainsley after they spend they spend a month together in the countryside.

While the premise for the novel is almost preposterous, and Jeyne does get won over by Ainsley's charm and sexual prowess very quickly, I liked both the protagonists, and was interested in seeing how the plot was going to develop. I also really liked the secondary plot, with Ainsley's mother. I can see why some Amazon reviews question the inclusion of this plot, but if you read the books as a trilogy, you get to know her quite well, and observe her romance with a younger portrait artist. Seeing the culmination of this relationship was very satisfying to me, and since I DID read the whole trilogy, I think the subplot was justified and added to my enjoyment of the third book.

59. "The Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley

2011-08-14T00:03:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Sourcebooks
Page count: 544 pages
Date begun: July 27th, 2011
Date finished: July 28th, 2011

Carrie McClelland is a bestselling author, who while visiting her agent north of Aberdeen, is strangely drawn to Slains castle in Cruden Bay. She's recently started a book about the 1708 Jacobite rebellion (if you don't know Scottish history, google it, I'm not going to explain it here), and decides to rent a cottage in the village near the castle, to get further inspiration for her writing. Unlike her previous novels, her new book seems to flow off the page, almost as if she's not having to craft the story, but writing about something she herself experienced.

The Winter Sea was first published in the UK as Sophia's Secret. It contains two parallell narratives; the story of Carrie, writing her novel in the Scottish countryside and trying to discover more about her ancestors during the early 18th Century, and Carrie's novel, about young Sophia Paterson, who arrives at Slains castle in 1708 and gets involved in the Jacobite rebellion. Both narratives are very well written, with very engaging protagonists, and while it's a fairly big book, I could barely put it down. It helps that the suspense is kept high as the narratives alternate. Anyone interested in well written and entertaining historical fiction, especially with a romantic element, should give this book a chance.

58. "Yours to Keep" by Shannon Stacey

2011-08-13T23:42:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Carina Press
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: July 25th, 2011
Date finished: July 26th, 2011

Sean Kowalski has just come home from the army and has no particular plans for the future. He's going to stay above his cousin's bar for a while, until he figures out what he wants to do. When Emma Shaw knocks on his door and asks him to pose as her fiancé, because she already told her grandmother that he not only asked her to marry him, but that she's made up this elaborate story that they live together, he thinks she's insane. Hot, but completely crazy.

Emma Shaw lives alone, and runs a landscape design company. Her grandparents raised her after her parents died, and now her grandmother has moved to Florida and is very happy there. However, her grandmother also worries about Emma, alone in the huge house, running a company by herself, so Emma made up a boyfriend to keep her happy. She used Sean's name, as she'd heard her best friend (married to Sean's cousin) mention him, and his exploits in Afghanistan. As her elaborate lie grew, she even photoshopped pictures and sent to her grandmother, her imaginary boyfriend moved in with her, and finally asked her to marry him. Of course, now grandma is coming to visit for a month, and wants to meet the man she's heard so much about, and who she thinks has been living with Emma for over a year.

After some thinking, having consulted with his cousin and his wife (Emma's best friend, remember), Sean is convinced that Emma is not actually crazy, just very worried about hurting and disappointing her grandmother. As he needs a job, and Emma's offered to pay him to work for her landscaping firm while he lives in her house and pretends to love her, and he starts feeling sympathetic to her plight, he agrees. Now the couple, who have known each other for less than a week, have to convince her grandmother that they're deeply in love and planning a wedding.

Yours to Keep is part of a series about the various Kowalski men. I haven't read any others in the series (which I suspect are about two of Sean's cousins, who both seem to have recently married), but it works fine on its own. While the premise of the book seemed a bit ridiculous, and I didn't really see how it would work, it turned out to be a very entertaining book, in part because the people around Emma and Sean have so much fun playing along with their charade. As the book was so much fun, I may well check out more Kowalski family romances in future.

57. "The Dark Enquiry" by Deanna Raybourn

2011-08-07T19:40:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Mira
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: July 23rd, 2011
Date finished: July 24th, 2011

This is the fifth book in a series, and the review may contain spoilers for earlier books in the series. Standard advice on skipping this if you're worried about such things. The first book in the series is Silent in the Grave, if you're interested in starting at the beginning.

After an extended honeymoon, Lady Julia and her husband, the Private Enquiry Agent Brisbane, are back in London, trying to establish a joint household. Brisbane has finally had to reluctantly agree that Julia can join him in his investigations, he also employs her brother Plum. Julia's most recent hobby of trying to replicate a type of gunpowder is driving Brisbane's housekeeper to distraction (because she keeps blowing things up), but all in all, they are finding some semblance of domestic bliss.

Julia discovers that her older brother, Lord Bellmont, a very proper member of parliament for the Conservatives, has consulted Brisbane about a matter, and is shocked when she realizes that the case could harm not just her brother's reputation, but could affect the whole government. A spiritual medium has been murdered, and the case may be connected not just to blackmail, but international espionage.

The Lady Julia books by Deanna Raybourn are very similar to Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily books, both featuring Victorian noblewomen who solve murder mysteries. But while Tasha Alexander's latest book was a great disappointment, Raybourn continues to entertain and amuse. While both series have a couple arguing over the role the woman partner should take in dangerous murder investigations, Julia and Brisbane deal with the issues in a more constructive and entertaining way. Raybourn depicts both the not always peaceful home life of her characters, as well as the challenges they face trying to work together.

The supporting cast of characters, chiefly Lady Julia's large and colourful family, is one of the reasons the books are so delightful. Her eccentric father, her sister Portia, now trying to raise a child, her many different brothers. The banter between Lady Julia and Brisbane, or between her and her family is wonderful. It's perfectly clear why Brisbane wants to keep her far away from danger, but also understandable why Lady Julia refuses to sit at home, being a quiet housekeeper. While they have their disagreements, they also communicate in a satisfying way, so that this book, which deals with many of the same issues as Dangerous to Know makes me eager for the next Raybourn novel (when Julia and Brisbane go to Rome), while I'm very dubious about the next Tasha Alexander book.

56. "Heartless" by Gail Carriger

2011-08-06T23:58:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Orbit
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: July 21st, 2011
Date finished: July 22nd, 2011

This is the fourth book in a series, and this review will undoubtedly contain spoilers for earlier books. If you mind this, skip the review, and begin the series at the beginning, with the delightful Soulless. Book 2 in the series is reviewed here and book 3 here.

Lady Alexia Maccon, neé Tarabotti, is back in London, back in the good graces of Queen Victoria and the rest of society, having proven that her current pregnancy, extremely unlikely as the conception was, is not the result of an affair. The vampires are still extremely worried about the nature of Alexia's future child, however, and keep trying to assassinate her. With the help of her husband's second in command, Professor Lyall and her good friend, the very influential vampire Lord Akeldama, she manages to figure out a solution that ensures the safety of her unborn child (not to mention herself), and results in her and Lord Maccon, Alpha of the Woolsey werewolf pack being next door neighbours with Akeldama.

While everyone urges her to rest and stay calm so close to her confinement, Alexia is warned by a ghost that someone is trying to kill the Queen, and is obviously determined to thwart the attempt. Despite warnings from various friends and acquaintances not to delve into the past, Alexia keeps digging and investigating, and finds out interesting things about the previous attempt to assassinate the queen, and links to her husband's former werewolf pack. Alexia's younger sister is suddenly a suffragette and insists on staying with her, her brilliant inventor friend seems out of sorts and keeps trying to avoid her. Biffy, the most recent addition to the Woolsey werewolf pack is having trouble adjusting to his new life, and if he doesn't learn to adjust to pack life, he could become an unprotected loner or worse, fade away to die. Alexia's life is certainly never restful.

In this book, Carriger is back on form, and the book was delightful and very entertaining. There are dirigible chases, zombie porcupines, a giant mechanical octopus, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, dastardly plots, abductions, explosions and a lot of witty banter between the various characters. I really hope Carriger can keep this up for the next one, which I think may be the last in the series, at least for now.

55. "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

2011-08-06T23:13:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Harper Voyager
Page count: 1040 pages
Date begun: July 12th, 2011
Date finished: July 20th, 2011

This review may contain some spoilers. It's the fifth book in a series, it makes absolutely no sense if you've not read the others in the series. If you've lived in a cave during the last few months, and not realized that the series is also being adapted into a very successfull HBO series, the first book is "A Game of Thrones".

Like many others, I waited six years for A Dance with Dragons. His previous book, A Feast for Crows was really only half a book, split off and published five years after the third book in the series. It covered about half the cast of characters in Martin's epic saga, but many of the most popular ones would not appear again until this one. As well as showing what the other half of characters in Westeros and the surrounding countries were up to, it ties all the threads together, so that all the characters in both books 4 and 5 will start from the same point in time when book 6 finally arrives.

So, was it worth waiting 11 years to find out what's happening with Bran, Danaerys, Tyrion and Jon Snow, as well as a multitude of other characters, some familiar, some new? I'm far too much of a fan girl to say no, although I'm not going to pretend Martin's writing is flawless. The book is monstrously big, and would absolutely have benefitted from tighter editing, however, that would probably have delayed its publication by at least another six months, maybe a year. So I can see why they decided to just get the thing out there, before the fans grew even more rabid. In many ways, Martin's prose has improved since he first started writing the books. This book has less of the never very well written sex scenes of the previous books, but there is still horrific violence.

As well as revealing what happened to Tyrion once he fled Westeros, now a wanted man, the book shows us Danaerys trying valiantly to do the right thing for all her followers, while unsure of who to trust. Jon Snow has many unpopular decisions to make, trying to appease one of the many contenders to the Iron Throne, while trying to figure out how to staff the Wall and find enough food, supplies and weapons to last them through the long winter, that's just around the corner. Bran travels with his companions in the hostile wilderness beyond the Wall, trying to find a mystical creature who can help him interpret his strange visions and hoping for the return of his legs. There are several groups of people travelling towards Mereen, wanting to woo the young Targaryen queen and gaining her dragons. Quite a few new points of view are introduced, some minor characters possibly believed dead are reintroduced, and it's clear that Martin has grand plans for his series.

The muliple points of view has always been a strength in Martin's series, allowing the reader to see a situation from different angles, and allowing Martin to show what is happening in various locations at the same time. Unfortunately, in this book, he occasionally shows the same event from up to three points of view, which gets a bit tiresome, and due to the lack of editing, more than one character recollects events not just in previous books, but earlier in this same book. When the flashbacks are coming from withing the episode, so to speak, it's time to tighten up the writing, George. He did not need to go so much into detail as he frequently did, and I hope that he manages to make the next book more focused and writes it faster, as some of the repetition took away from my enjoyment.

If you're a fan of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, you will enjoy this book as well, and as I said, many of the flaws are understandable, considering how fast they rushed the publication. I just hope that Martin has plotted the remains of the series carefully now, and that the remaining books in the series arrive before I have kids not just in nursery, but primary school.

54. "Naamah's Blessing" by Jacqueline Carey

2011-07-12T03:29:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Page count: 624 pages
Date begun: July 7th, 2011
Date finished: July 10th, 2011

This is the third and final book in a trilogy (which is, in turn, the third trilogy set in the fictional world of Terre D'Ange, and this review will contain some spoilers for the first and second books in the series. If you want to avoid them, skip this review, and go read Jacqueline Carey's excellent Kushiel's Dart instead.

Moirin has been away from her father's homeland of Terre D'Ange for years. She has endured much, experienced numerous exotic countries and cultures, but returns with her beloved husband Bao. The land she returns to is much changed. King Daniel is grieving his dead wife to the point where he's no longer able to rule and has appointed an ambitious Regent to rule in his stead, three-year-old princess Desirée, a miniature version of Queen Jehanne, hardly ever sees her father and is being raised by nursemaids. The crown prince, Thierry, is on an expedition to Terra Nova, the recently discovered continent far across the sea to the West. Moirin and Bao do their best to make the princess feel loved and Moirin accepts the role as Desirée's oath-sworn protector, even though several people at court fear and avoid her, due to her half-pagan heritage. When disaster strikes the royal house, Moirin and her husband have to travel to Terra Nova, to prove that Prince Thierry is not dead, as rumour would have it, and bring him back to Terre D'Ange. It's a long and hazardous journey, and mistakes from her past come back to haunt her, making the task nearly impossible.

Naamah's Blessing is in reality the concluding volume of nine books in Jacqueline Carey's alternate history version of our world. Throughout the nine books (the preceeding two trilogies set several generations before this one), she has explored an alternate Renaissance Europe, the Middle East, parts of Africa, and in this trilogy, Asia, Central and South America. Her books are wonderfully researched, and there is a lot of historical knowledge to be gained from them, even though they are set in a fantasy universe. While travelling much greater distances than either Phédre or Imriel, the protagonists of Carey' other trilogies, Moirin's life, although eventful, contain a lot less political intrigue, and that, in some ways, makes this third trilogy less engaging and thrilling than the other two. While it is never boring to read one of these books, neither book in Moirin's trilogy excited me as much as Carey's first trilogy, or Kushiel's Mercy, the third book in the Imriel trilogy. Still, they are great comfort reading, and very well written, so if you enjoy Carey's other Terre D'Ange book, read these as well.

53. "Silk is for Seduction" by Loretta Chase

2011-07-12T02:59:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Avon
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: July 1st, 2011
Date finished: July 3rd, 2011

Marcelline Noirot is the daughter of two notorious scoundrels and swindlers, but is determined to make an honest living as a dressmaker, aided by her two younger sisters. She runs a fashionable and fairly successful establishment, but most of the rich and noble ladies still stay loyal to her competitor. Maison Noirot could use a truly high profile client, and when rumour has it that the Duke of Clevedon is finally returning to London to propose to his best friend's sister, Marcelline decides that said high profile client will be Lady Clara, the future Duchess of Clevedon.

To secure this contract, she brings her most spectacular outfits and hunts down Clevedon in Paris. He, like every man who sees Marcelline, is instantly smitten, and is rather astonished when Marcelline doggedly pursues him not for his looks or status, but to fashion outfits for his intended bride. Having lived a life of leasure and frivolity on the Continent, Clevedon is determined not to disappoint his friends in England any longer, and having faithfully corresponded with Lady Clara throughout his European adventures, he knows that he must "come up to scratch" and propose. Once he meets Marcelline, however, he can't seem to get her out of his thoughts, and he finds that he has nothing to say in his letters to Clara.

Marcelline is charmed by the Duke, but knows that no dressmaker will get wealthy female clients if they think she steals their men. She wants a strictly professional relationship with Clevedon, and flees Paris when it is clear that he is attracted to more than the dresses she wears. When she meets Lady Clara, she likes the lady a great deal, and helps the young woman realize that she doesn't have to listen to her domineering mother in matters of fashion, or on how to live her life. Her plan to make the future Duchess the best dressed woman in London seems to be going swimmingly, until Maison Noirot burns to the ground, leaving Marcelline, her sisters and her daughter homeless.

In Silk is for Seduction Loretta Chase has the difficult task of convincing the reader that the hero and heroine getting together, possibly at the cost of a very nice third party's happiness. Lady Clara is a beautiful, smart and likable character, and it's only through very clever writing that Clevedon doesn't come across as a total cad. It's clear that Chase is also setting up Marcelline's two younger sisters (a blonde AND a redhead - Marcelline is a brunette) as heroine's in future novels. I hope Lady Clara gets her happy ending in one, as well.

52. "A Lady's Lesson in Scandal" by Meredith Duran

2011-07-12T01:55:00.001+02:00

Publisher: PocketStar
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: June 30th, 2011
Date finished: July 1st, 2011

Factory girl Nell Whitby's life changes dramatically when she sneaks into the Earl of Rushden's residence to get revenge for the death of her mother. Having been told that she is the Earl's daugther while said mother was ill, Nell wrote to the Earl for money to pay for a doctor, but heard nothing. She quickly discovers that this is because the old Earl is dead, and never got her letter.

Simon St. Maur, the new Earl, is nearly penniless, as all the former Earl's money was left to his two daughters, Katherine and Cornelia. Cornelia has been missing without a trace since she was six, and Simon is delighted to see that Nell, the angry young woman who's pointing a gun at his naked self (yup, the hero is buck naked when he meets the heroine for the first time) bears a striking resemblance, though thinner and grimier, to Lady Katherine. Realizing that Nell believes herself to be the bastard daughter of the late Earl, he in fact surmises that she is the missing Lady Cornelia, having been kidnapped by her "mother" many years ago. He can promise her a wonderful new life as a rich heiress, all she has to do is marry him.

Simon needs to prove to society and the courts that Nell is actually the missing heiress, and unless he marries her, he'll not see a penny of her fortune. At first, he convinces Nell to stay by threatening to call the police on her if she doesn't, she did after all, break into his house and threaten to shoot him. Later, the prospect of pretty dresses and any valuables she can filch and resell when she goes back to her old life in Bethnal Green makes her agree to the deal, as she still doubts Simon's word that he will actually marry her, and convince anyone that she is a noblewoman. As time goes on, though, Nell starts to remember things, and she begins to wonder if Simon could actually be correct in his conviction that she is Lady Cornelia.

Meredith Duran is now an author whose books I pre-order, and eagerly look forward to. Her characters are always something out of the ordinary, and their path to the happy ending is usually not an easy one. She has an excellent grasp of language, and I find myself almost wanting to read bits of her prose out loud, which doesn't happen that often in romance novels. Both Simon and Nell are wonderfully complex characters, Nell, especially. Refreshingly, she doesn't deny her near-instant attraction to Simon, but realizes that while he may be telling the truth, and she may have been born a noblewoman, they are from vastly different worlds, and he holds a terrifying amount of power and influence over her. Should he change his mind, she's the one withe the most to lose. Simon starts out as a bit of a cold opportunist, and probably grows and changes even more than Nell. At first, he clearly doesn't deserve her, but at the end, he has proven that he's her perfect match.

51. "The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan

2011-07-12T01:14:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Puffin
Page count: 544 pages
Date begun: June 25th, 2011
Date finished: June 29th, 2011

In the course of last year, I read the entirety of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, where young Percy Jackson finds out that he is a demi-god and son of the Greek god Poseidon. He and several of his friends, who are either demi-gods or other mythological beings, go on many adventures and quests, usually to save the world from destruction.

Rick Riordan has clearly found a winning formula, and if it ain't broke, he ain't gonna fix nothing. Having successfully sold millions in a series based on Greek mythology, he gleefully takes on Egyptian myth in his new series, this time with two new, young protagonists, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane. Carter has travelled the world with his father, famous archeologist Dr. Julius Kane, while after a very bitter custody hearing after Mrs. Kane's death, Sadie has been raised in London by her grandparents. She only sees her father and brother twice a year, for a day at a time. The kids are mixed race, with Sadie apparently taking after her blonde, English mother (i.e looking Caucasian), while Carter looks like his African American dad.

It's just before Christmas, Carter and his dad are in London to see Sadie, and Dr. Kane drags both his children to the British Museum, acting very shifty all the while. Once in there, he proceeds to blow up the Rosetta Stone with magic, releasing all sorts of trouble in the process. Suddenly everything Sadie and Carter thought they knew is turned on its head. They find out that both their parents are from ancient bloodlines with strong magical abilities, that in trying to right a great wrong, their father accidentally released five Egyptian gods, including Set, god of Chaos, and that they have approximately six days to set everything right, or the world might get destroyed.

So, new mythology, new protagonists, same old quest narrative. I read the Percy Jackson books over the course of a whole year, and didn't really feel that they became quite as repetetive as this book did. It was entertaining, and Riordan really does integrate some pretty complex mythological facts in his adventure books for teens. The Egyptian pantheon and mythology is, in my mind, quite a bit more complicated than the Greek, yet Riordan integrates it very well. The narration changes between Carter and Sadie, and over the course of the book we get to know both characters well. There's very few quiet moments, it jumps from dangerous situation to dangerous situation, in ever changing locations - London, New York, Cairo, Paris and so forth. There's a clear time limit, and the kids are under a lot of pressure. I would have liked some of the book to calm down from its breathless pace, but all in all, it wasn't bad, and I will look out for the next book in the series, especially to see if Sadie's crush on the hunky Anubis goes anywhere.

50. Something Deadly This Way Comes" by Kim Harrison

2011-06-23T00:44:00.002+02:00

Publisher: HarperCollins
Page count: 256 pages
Date begun: June 18th, 2011
Date finished: June 19th, 2011

WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES!

This is the third book in a series. To get an impression of the general plot of the books, go read my review of book 2 in the series here, or start at the beginning with Once Dead, Twice Shy.

Madison is still struggling to get to grips with her role as the dark Timekeeper, and trying to prove that people's lives can be changed, and that the Dark Reapers don't have to kill a person to save their soul just as soon as their lives take a wrong turn. She has a vision that a teenage girl, Tammy, will lose her will to live and doom her soul once her brother dies in a fire, and goes to California with Nakita and Barnabas, her two Reapers, to convince her to stay home, but just appears to make things worse, at least to begin with. If she doesn't convince Tammy that her life is worth living quickly, she may be dooming her to die at the hands of another Dark Reaper.

Madison is also trying to learn how to control her amulet, and deal with her visions of the future of potentially cursed souls. She discovers that there may be a way of having her actual body back, but will also have to make the decision of whether she wants to continue as the Dark Timekeeper and keep trying to make a difference, or go back to being a normal teenage girl, with a normal life.

As Kim Harrison has now pretty much established the world of the Madison Avery books in her previous novels, she can focus on the main plot in this one. There's not that much added character development for Madison in the book, but we find out more about Barnabas and Nakita, and come to understand why they're not entirely thrilled with the idea of Madison finding her body and possibly giving up her duties as Timekeeper. It's a short and breezy read, if you've read and enjoyed the previous two books. There are some changes made towards the end of the book, that promises interesting developments in future installments.

49. "Graveminder" by Melissa Marr

2011-06-23T00:44:00.001+02:00

Publisher: HarperCollins
Page count: 400 pages
Date begun: June 16th, 2011
Date finished: June 17th, 2011

The town of Claysville is a quiet place, and not entirely like other towns. People born and raised there, tend never to stay away for long, no one ever seems to get sick or addicted to anything, and they have strange funeral practices, where the bodies of the Claysville dead have to be buried within the town limits, and interred within 48 hours of death. Rebekkah Barrow's grandmother, Maylene, went to every funeral, drank three sips from a tiny silver flask with whisky and holy water, and bad the dead to "Sleep well and stay where I put you." She would also visit the graves of the recently dead, tending to their plots and pouring offerings of tea or whisky.

Rebekkah has been staying away from Claysville for a long time, running from the strange pull she always feels to return to the town, and her feelings for Byron, her dead stepsister's boyfriend. Now her grandmother has been murdered in a savage attack, and she has no choice but to return. She soon finds out that there are reasons why the residents of Claysville stay healthy, but rarely leave town, why her grandmother performed the same ritual at every funeral, and why she can't stop longing for Byron, whether she feels guilty about her dead sister or not. Rebekkah has to take over Maylene's duties as Graveminder, or the entire town could be in terrible danger.

I have yet to read the two final books in Melissa Marr's young adult Wicked Lovely series, since the third book didn't grab me all that much, and there always seem to be so many other shiny and interesting books out there. Having read the blurb for Graveminder, her first book for adults, I was intrigued, and once I started reading, I was reluctant to put the book down again (curse work and social commitments!). The story shifts in perspective from Maylene in the prologue, to Rebekkah and Byron and occasionally other town residents, and slowly the mystery of Claysville and Maylene's death unravels. The town founders made a bargain a long time ago, and it's very satisfying to discover just what the bargain entails, and how it came to pass, even while one feels very sympathetic towards Rebekkah and Byron and the enormous burdens that are placed upon them as a result of this bargain.

I would classify this as a paranormal mystery/fantasy rather than a romance, although there is definately romantic tension between the two protagonists, and their relationship develops in a very natural and satisfying way as well. I read on Marr's website that there'll be a short story about one of the more fascinating supporting characters in the book coming out in July, and that she also plans to write a sequel next year. As I'm quite hooked on the world that she's created, I will be eagerly anticipating both.

48. "Imitation in Death" by J.D. Robb

2011-06-23T00:43:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus books
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: June 13th, 2011
Date finished: June 15th, 2011

A brutal serial killer is hunting women in New York, killing them in the style of famous former murderers, such as Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy. He leaves letters addressed to lieutenant Eve Dallas at the crime scenes, taunting her and her associates. Eve manages to keep the media buzz to a minimum, but all the main suspects are either foreign diplomats or high profiled celebrities, and it's not an easy job. Add to the fact that catching a killer based on the exclusive stationary he prefers, is not a walk in the park.

She also has new nightmares, starting to remember her mother. Her domestic nemesis, Roarke's butler Summerset, is due back from vacation and her trusty aide Peabody is stressing out over her impending Detective's exam, worried that she'll fail, and in the process let herself, her family and most of all, her trusted superior, down.

As always, it's a joy to read about Roarke and his darling Eve, not to mention Peabody, McNab, Mira and all the other regulars. The series of murders in this installment are particularly grisly, and, as always, Eve is determined to stand for the dead, and get justice for the crimes committed against them.

47. "Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson

2011-06-23T00:43:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Page count: 656 pages
Date begun: June 3rd, 2011
Date finished: June 9th, 2011

Elantris was the legendary capital of Arelon, populated with radiant, magical, nearly godlike beings, selected from all levels of society by a process known as the Shaod. If a person got selected by the Shaod, he or she would get the telltale silvery hair and skin of an Elantrian, and could pretty much live forever in prosperity and wealth. Yet ten years ago, disaster struck, and what used to be a blessing, is now a curse. Elantris is mostly abandoned, covered in slime and muck, the buildings are crumbling and all the magic is lost.

In Arelon's new capital, Kae, prince Raoden is deeply beloved by the people and trying to affect lasting social change against the wishes of his father. All his plans are ruined when he wakes up one morning, skin mottled with black spots, hair falling out, the Shaod having struck him in the night. As is the custom, the people are told that he is dead, and he is ushered into Elantris to be forgotten.

Princess Sarene arrives from neighbouring Teod, ready for her marriage to Raoden, only to find herself a widow before she even got to have a wedding. Due to the wording of the marriage treaty, the wedding is considered valid whether one party dies before the ceremony, so she is now part of the Arelon royal family. She quickly finds out that her new mother-in-law is a complete airhead, and her father-in-law clearly assumes and expects all women of his court to behave like her. Shrewd and highly intelligent, Sarene can tell that not everything is what it seems, and she is worried about the state of Arelon's political stability (they have no standing army), especially on the arrival of an agressive and highly militant preacher.

Hrathen is a high priest from another neighbouring nation, Fjordell, ruled by a very powerful God-Emperor. Hrathen's been given three months to convert Arelon or the country will be invaded by the armies of Fjordell. Sarene decides to use her position as part of the royal family to oppose Hrathen as much as possible, while also trying to find out what happened to prince Raoden, little realizing that he's still alive, and having to adapt to a new and frightening existence in the crumbling ruins of Elantris.

Elantris is a completely stand-alone fantasy novel, something quite rare in this day and age. The book follows the points of view of Raoden, Sarene and Hrathen, where Raoden tries to get the shambling inhabitants of Elantris to rise above their depressed states and form some sort of civilized society, Hrathen tries to convert as many people in Arelon as possible in a short period of time, and Sarene tries to oppose him in every way possible and mobilize the nobility against the threat of Fjordell invasion. As the book progresses, the three storylines meet up more and more, to converge towards the conclusion. It's not a flawless book by any means, but it's remarkable for a debut effort, and I enjoyed it a lot. In addition, I met Brandon Sanderson at a book signing here in Oslo, and he's super nice, and I feel that he deserves as wide a readership as he can get, for his own writing, rather than because he's finishing The Wheel of Time series for the now deceased Robert Jordan.

46. "Just Like Heaven" by Julia Quinn

2011-06-22T00:46:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: June 2nd, 2011
Date finished: June 2nd, 2011

Long time readers of Julia Quinn's romances know that the annual Smythe-Smith musicales (where gently bred young ladies of the Smythe-Smith family play classical music, usually dreadfully) feature in a lot of the books, usually sources of many witty discourses and much suffering from the brave attendees.

Just Like Heaven is the first of Quinn's Smythe-Smith series, and Lady Honoria Smythe-Smith is the heroine. She plays the violin very badly during the musicale, with several of her unmarried cousins (once a girl gets married, she is replaced by another single cousin, which probably acts as yet another incentive for the young ladies to catch a husband as soon as possible.) Honoria is the youngest in her family by quite some years, her older sisters are all married, and her beloved older brother was forced to flee abroad after a scandalous duel, and is unlikely to return any time soon. She's in her second season, and starting to get a bit desperate. She is determined to find a suitable husband by the end of the season, lest she be forced to take care of her mother as a spinster companion for the rest of her days.

Honoria doesn't realize that one of the reasons she has yet to be offered any proposals, is that Marcus Holroyd, the Earl of Chatteris and her brother Daniel's best friend, has been scaring away any men he deems unsuitable (so far, all of them). Before Daniel had to flee the country, Marcus promised to watch over Honoria and take care of her, but he's been very good about hiding the fact from her. However, when one of her schemes for landing herself a husband back-fires, and Marcus gets injured, and later sustains a very dangerous infection, Honoria and her mother travel to his estate to nurse him back to health, and the two suddenly spend a lot more time in each other's company.

Julia Quinn has written a number of wonderful romances that I adore, several that are very enjoyable and diverting, but don't make me sigh with pleasure, and only one so far that I've found actively dreadful (Miranda Cheever, I'm looking at you). Just Like Heaven was a fast, entertaining and very sweet reading experience, but it's not one of the ones I'm going to keep picking up and rereading every so often, just because I love every aspect of it. While it was fun to see behind the scenes, so to speak, at the Smythe-Smith musicale rehearsals, the bits where Honoria interacts with her musically challenged cousins were a lot less fun than her banter and developing romance with Marcus. A fun read, but nothing mind-blowing.

45. "Magic Slays" by Ilona Andrews

2011-06-22T00:45:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Ace
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: May 31st, 2011
Date finished: May 31st, 2011

This is the fifth book in the Kate Daniels series. This review will contain minor spoilers for previous books in the series, because at this point it's actually impossible to avoid them. If you want to avoid them, skip this review, and go start reading the books instead. They're awesome, I promise. Overlook the dreadful covers. Start with Magic Bites. Go on, you won't regret it.

Kate Daniels has quit her job with the Knight of Merciful Aid, and set up her own business as an independent agent. She has her own office, but business has been decidedly lacking, possibly because her former employer hasn't exactly been glowing in their recommendations. So when Ghastek, the foremost Master of the Dead calls her to capture an escaped vampire, she jumps at the chance. Shortly after, a former acquaintance, an elite bodyguard, shows up at her office, needing help to track down the inventor of a mysterious device who's gone missing. As Kate gets deeper into the case, it turns out that the escaped vampire and the missing inventor are connected cases.

Kate is also trying to get to grips with her new status as female alpha to the Pack of Atlanta. As Curran's mate and consort, she has to have the welfare of the huge shapeshifter community in mind, something that is very alien to a woman raised to avoid personal connections and close relationships. Her ward, Julie, has run away from school, again, and she needs to figure out what to do with the girl. In the course of her investigation, she goes to visit the witch coven, and learns more about her mother, and Voron, the man who raised her, which forces her to reevaluate a lot of what she thought she knew about herself and her life.

I eagerly await each new book written by Ilona and Gordon Andrews, and clear my entire schedule when I get one of their books, so I can do nothing but immerse myself in the book and truly savour it. Of all the books in the Kate Daniels series, Magic Slays is the best so far, which is no mean feat. It can probably be read independently of the others in the series, but would then completely lack the emotional impact the reader gets from seeing just how much Kate has developed and grown since the first book. Starting out hard and ruthless loner, Kate now has a mate, a family, friends, and a number of people who rely on her, and who can also come to her aid in times of need. She is forced to take a close look at her life as she's know it, and realize that things are not necessarily as she was raised to believe they were.

Kate is a strong and fascinating character, and the supporting cast of the novels are just as good. The dialogue is often laugh out loud funny, and the continuing development of Kate's relationship with Curran is wonderful. Both are such stubborn and demanding personalities, forced to learn to adapt and compromise because of the person they love. This is by far my favourite book in the series so far, it had me in turns laughing out loud and gasping in suspense, and the last pages promises that the next novel may be even better.

44. "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel

2011-06-22T00:18:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Fourth Estate
Page count: 672 pages
Date begun: May 23rd, 2011
Date finished: May 30th, 2011

Now regular readers of this blog might be forgiven for thinking that I pretty much exclusively read paranormal fantasy, or romance, or paranormal romance, with the occasional foray into young adult fiction. They would not be wrong. As a teacher, I find it extremely satisfying and diverting to read various types of genre fiction as my main form of relaxation. With teaching, correction work and lesson planning going through my mind, I find I don't have the patience with heavy intellectual tomes a lot of the time.

There are exceptions to the rule, however. I don't think anyone would classify Wolf Hall as light weight (it's a huge brick of a book, for one thing). It won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and it covers a fairly complex time in history. As a medieaval historian, I love me some Tudors. I wrote essays on them at university. I find Henry VIII and his offspring fascinating. This book chronicles the fall of Henry's advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, and the subsequent rise to power of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a brutal Putney blacksmith who became the king's first minister, and eventually, the first Earl of Essex.

A brilliant statesman, Cromwell steps in when his mentor, Wolsey, loses favour with the king, and helps secure Henry's divorce to Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn. He loses his own wife and daughters to the sweating sickness, but keeps rising in the ranks of the court, until he is indispensable to the king and the new queen.

The book is not actually a very difficult read, considering the weighty subject matter. It starts in the late 1520s, when Wolsey is still Henry's chief advisor, and covers the next ten years or so of the Tudor king's reign. Every so often, it flashes back to Cromwell's childhood or early life, and this can get a bit distracting. The book also goes into a little bit too much detail about Cromwell's inner musings on occasion, and drags in parts, but is for the most part, a very entertaining read and gave me a lot more insight into the life of a very important and often overlooked man in English history.

43. "The Vampire Dimitri" by Colleen Gleason

2011-05-24T14:26:00.002+02:00

Publisher: Mira
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: May 20th, 2011
Date finished: May 21st, 2011

Dimitri, the Earl of Corvindale became one of the Dracule to save the woman he loved at the time, and has regretted his decision for nearly a century. Unlike many of his fellow Dracule, he doesn't really enjoy a life of decadence and debauchery, he isolates himself, studying ancient texts to try to find a way out of his demonic bargain. He's not at all pleased when his associate, the vampire hunter Chas Woodmore goes missing, taking the evil Cesare Moldavi's gorgeous vampire sister Narcise with him into hiding. Bound by a promise to Woodmore, Dimitri has to act as guardian to his two younger sisters, Maia and Angelica, and protect them against the vengeful wrath of Moldavi.

Maia Woodmore is not pleased about the arrangement either. She is to be married to a promising young gentleman as soon as he returns from the Continent, and feels that packing up all their possessions to stay at Corvindale's dark and dusty old manor is entirely pointless. Yet she will respect her brother's wishes. Then her sister Angelica gets herself involved with the disreputable Viscount Dewhurst, and despite Maia's many useful suggestions, Corvindale just doesn't seem interested in listening to her. She keeps having disturbingly erotic dreams about a man biting her neck, and there seems to be no end of dangerous thugs lurking around the place trying to get to her and her sister.

The Vampire Dimitri did not take as long to get properly started as The Vampire Voss, but did repeat a number of scenes that had already been explored in the previous book from a different point of view, in some cases in a little bit more detail than entirely neccessary, in my opinion. The fact that both Dimitri and Maia are more engaging characters, and that quite a lot of the worldbuilding has now been established, so there's less need for expositiony passages that explain about the Dracule or the relationships between various factions, also helps a lot. I did find Maia's character a little bit inconsistent, she's prim, proper and very decorous one minute, then give her a glass or two of champagne punch and she'll snog any random handsome stranger who approaches. I get that she's supposed to have hidden depths of passion that just need to be unlocked, but there could have been a bit more persuading going on before she threw caution to the wind.

I've heard that the third and final book in the trilogy is supposed to be less of a retread of already established plot, and am hoping that Gleason exploring a female Dracule might lead to the best book of the lot. This book was fun, but The Regency Draculia is nothing close to as good as her first series.

42. "The Vampire Voss" by Colleen Gleason

2011-05-24T14:03:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Mira
Page count: 384 pages
Date begun: May 8th, 2011
Date finished: May 14th, 2011

Voss, Viscount Dewhurst is one of the Dracule, a vampire who became such after selling his soul to Lucifer in return for an eternal life of wealth, decadence and pleasure. He makes his living selling information, and as such, is not super popular among the other Dracule of the London set. He's recently returned from the Colonies, and is trying to find useful information about Napoleon Boneparte and the war between France and England. He knows that one of the Woodmore sisters (wards to another Dracule, Dimitri, the Earl of Corvindale) has psychic powers, and his plan is to seduce useful information out of her.

His job is hampered by the fact that the Woodmore sisters are being hunted by Cesare Moldavi, an evil vampire who's furious that Chas Woodmore, their brother (and a famous vampire hunter) has absconded with his precious sister Narcise. So Dimitri is keeping careful watch over the Woodmore sisters, and once Voss finally gets close to Angelica (the one with the Sight), it turns out that she is immune to his vampire thrall, if not to his looks and charm. A notorious womanizer, Voss is taken aback when he finds Angelica so irresistable, and for the first time in over a century of debauchery, he feels compelled to change. Will the love of a good woman save him from his bargain with the Devil?

I very much enjoyed Colleen Gleason's previous paranormal series, The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, which combined adventure, romance and vampire slaying in a Regency setting. In those books, all the vampires were evil, in this new series (which seems to be set in the same universe, due to cameo appearances by familiar characters), it seems that there are different kinds of vampires, and some are less bad than others. The Dracule are men (or women) who bargain their soul to the devil, and in return get eternal youth. They do have to drink blood and avoid sunlight, and apparently all have a unique weakness that can incapacitate them (the first thing they lay eyes on after becoming Dracule).

The vampire mythos is quite interesting, and the book was not bad after the first hundred pages or so. But to begin with, it was dreadfully slow going, and the reason it took me over a week to finish it, is that I kept putting it down to read something else. Once the action actually gets going, the book is quite enjoyable, although neither Voss nor Angelica are great characters, and I found myself a little bit indifferent to whether they would get their happy ending or not. Still, I feel that I may as well commit to the rest of the series now too, in the hopes that the following books in the trilogy get better.

41. "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris

2011-05-22T00:51:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Ace
Page count: 336 pages
Date begun: May 8th, 2011
Date finished: May 10th, 2011

This is the eleventh book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and it will make very little sense to anyone who hasn't read book 10 and quite a few of the others in the series. Standard warning about possible spoilers for previous books in the series.

Sookie is still working as a waitress at Merlotte's, even though the business is not thriving, with a roadhouse opening up nearby, luring away many of the customers. It doesn't improve matters when someone attacks the bar and firebombs it. Everything happens very fast, but Sookie is pretty sure whoever attacked was two-natured.

Eric is distracted, and clearly has some kind of confict with Pam. Sookie can feel that he's upset through the blood bond they share, and Pam clearly wants to talk to her, but is forbidden to do so by Eric.Tired of not knowing whether her feelings for Eric are actually real, or brought forth by the blood bond between them, and the constant peril they keep experiencing, Sookie invites her witch friend and ex-roommate Amelia to come visit to see if the bond can be broken. However, breaking the bond could put Sookie in further danger from Victor, the newly installed regent in the area, who wants nothing more than to provoke Eric into doing something rash, so he can be removed once and for all.

Sookie finds out more about her heritage once she clears out a bunch of old furniture, and a cupboard contains a secret compartment with a mysterious fairy artifact and a letter from her grandmother. After talks with an old aqcuaintance, she even discovers where her telepathy came from. Now, she just has to survive Eric's power struggle with his boss, the plots of her fairy relatives, avoid a former adversary out for revenge, figure out how to help Sam get his business back on track and plan her friend Tara's baby shower.

Dead Reckoning was better than Dead in the Family, where I thought nothing much happened at all. I'm not entirely sure what Harris has planned for Sookie and the rest of the characters, there are clearly things set up in this book that will play out later, but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get there. Considering Sookie's life is threatened several times during the course of this book, it still seems to pass fairly slowly, and there seems to be very little of actual importance happening.

Certain parts of the plot completely messed up the continuity of previous books, and I think I will just ignore those, as either Harris is confused about what she previously wrote, or she's just committed a very unsuccessful ret-con. I'm not entirely happy with the direction she's taking Eric and Sookie's relationship, and after spending quite such a long time getting them together, she needs to decide if she actually wants them to ba a couple, or if she's just going to keep messing with them. She also needs to decide whether Sookie is ditzy and silly and impulsive to the point of being TSTL, or whether she's actually clever and resourceful, if somewhat weary of what her life since she was introduced to the supernatural world has become, because in this book she jumps between the two, and it gets confusing and frustrating.

I didn't by any means hate the book, but the series is nowhere near as good as it was in the beginning. It seems as if Harris is just writing on autopilot, throwing inlife-threatening danger for Sookie in each book. In the first few, there was a central mystery to be solved, and each book ended with most of the story-strands tied up. Now each book ends in a much more open fashion, the focus is much more on vampire and faery politics, and I wish I had more confidence in Harris ending the series in a satisfactory way. Still, with only one book a year, I'll probably stick with it until the end.

40. "Mine to Possess" by Nalini Singh

2011-05-08T15:11:00.002+02:00

Publisher: Gollancz
Page count: 352 pages
Date begun: May 5th, 2011
Date finished: May 7th, 2011

This is the fourth book in the Psy-Changeling series, and the normal spiel about there being possible spoilers for previous books in the series applies, as always. This book, more than any of the preceding three does not make a lot of sense unless you've read at least some of the others, so if you haven't, go start at the beginning with Slave to Sensation.

Clay Bennett is a half-human leopard changeling who searched for acceptance until he found he found a place with the Dark River leopard clan. Talin McKay is human, and still marked by the horrors of her childhood. Abused and nearly killed by her sosiopathic foster father, she was saved by her best friend, the teenage Clay, who lost control of his inner cat and tore the man to pieces. He was sent to juvie for the crime, and believed that Talin died in a car accident shortly after.

Hence his shock is great when his Tally turns up very much alive twenty years later, begging him for help. Employed by the Shine foundation, a charitable organisation which helps gifted street kids, Talin is desperate to find out who is kidnapping and killing the children under her and her colleagues' protection. She turns to the strongest person she knows, even though a part of her is still terrified of him.

Clay struggles to get over the betrayal he feels that Talin committed by faking her own death. It's obvious to him that she's scared of him, even though, as children, all he ever felt towards her was protectiveness. Now, when both are adults, his fierce need to protect is reawakened, coupled with intense feelings of attraction. He agrees to help Talin find the children, both because the changelings value the young, and to ensure that she stays around long enough for him to convince her that she must never leave again. But Talin has a secret that she's keeping from him, and she's reluctant to get too close to him, even as she feels as drawn to him as he is to her.

As well as the romance between Clay and Talin (the first completely human protagonist of the Psy-Changeling novels so far), Mine to Possess continues the underlying plot line of the Psy wanting to increase control of the Silence (the process by which they are sealed away from all human emotion, and run on pure logic and intellect) and are working on an implant to ensure complete compliance from all Psy from childhood. The missing children are being used in experiments, but not all the Psy agree that the new protocol is the way forward. There is further sabotage from rogue Psy, and at least one plot line is set up that will continue in future books.

The book also features many of the characters from the previous books, and the day to day life of the Dark River changelings and their pack structure is further explored. I must admit that Clay and Tally's story didn't grab me as much as the continued plot line of Changelings vs Psy in this, and I'm more interested in seeing where things are going with the overarching plot arc in Hostage to Pleasure.

39. "Princess of Glass" by Jessica Day George

2011-05-08T15:11:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page count: 272 pages
Date begun: May 3rd, 2011
Date finished: May 4th, 2011

Princess of Glass is a sequel of possibly accompanying novel to Jessica Day George's Princess of the Midnight Ball. This review may therefore contain mild spoilers for that book, and anyone wanting to avoid said spoilers, should skip this review and read that book first.

Poppy, one of the twelve princesses from the country of Westfalin (Germany) has been sent to one of the neighbouring countries on a diplomatic exchange. She keeps being invited to balls, but due to a life-time of having to dance nightly due to a now broken curse, she prefers gambling at card tables instead. She is still having recurring nightmares about the years she and her sisters had to dance at the court of the evil King-under-Stone, and misses her family. She enjoys making new friends, though, especially her growing closeness with another visiting royal, Prince Christian of the Danelaw (unsurprisingly, Denmark), yet even he can't tempt her into actually dancing.

During one of the many royal balls arranged in Prince Christian's honour, a mysterious and beautiful young lady appears, dressed impeccably, covered in jewels and wearing delicate glass shoes, charming all the men. Yet she seems especially determined to monopolize as many dances as possible with Christian. Poppy recognizes the enigmatic Lady Ella as Ellen, the extremely clumsy maid in the household where she's staying. Ellen is the orphaned daughter of a local nobleman, forced into domestic service after her father lost all his money and had to sell off his estate. There is clearly magic involved with Ellen's sudden make-over, and Poppy suspects there is something sinister behind Ellen's godmother's determination that she marry Prince Christian. She will need to figure out what magical influence this so-called Fairy Godmother wields, and how to break it.

Princess of Glass is another delightful fairy tale retelling, this time a very interesting twist on Cinderella. Based on this, and her previous novels, I will absolutely be on the lookout for any others she writes, whether they're about other Westfalian princesses or something entirely different.

36-38: "The Ralston trilogy" by Sarah MacLean

2011-05-08T15:10:00.000+02:00

36: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
37: Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord
38: Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart

Total page count: 1200 pages
Date begun: April 28th, 2011
Date finished: May 2nd, 2011

Sarah MacLean sure has long (and rather silly) titles for her books, but don't let that put you off. If you like historical romance, with a good deal of emotional development, these are very enjoyable books, each in their way.

36: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
Gabriel St. John is the Marquis of Ralston, and has a reputation as a rake, a libertine and a bit of a rogue. He and his slightly younger twin brother Nicholas, are both tall, dark, rich and handsome, and have trouble trusting women after their faithless and scandalous mother left their father when they were ten, and ran off to Italy. There she married an Italian merchant, had a daughter, and promptly ran off again, leaving Miss Juliana Fiori unaware that she had older half-brothers until her father dies, and she is instructed to go seek them out in London.

Neither Gabriel or his brother are prepared to foster an orphaned young lady and bring her out into society. Added to their own rather dubious reputations is the fact that Juliana is not titled and can quite possibly be considered illegitimate. The gossips of the ton could eat her alive, unless the St. John brothers find the perfect allies. As luck would have it, Lady Calpurnia Hartwell turns up on Gabriel's doorstep late one night, and the two strike a bargain.

Callie is sick to death of being a wallflower and spinster of impeccable reputation. While her younger sister has just secured the proposal of the season to a man she adores and will soon be Duchess, Callie has spent eight long years on the marriage market, never stepping a foot out of line, approached only by fortune hunters and undesirable men interested in her dowry. She's made a list with nine things that she wants to experience to fill her life with adventure, and the first thing she wants is a proper kiss. Who better to get it from than London's most notorious rake, and the man she has always fancied?

In return for a truly spine-melting kiss, Callie agrees to sponsor Miss Juliana's entry into Society. Her job is made easier when the two women like each other immensely upon meeting each other. But instructing the opinionated young woman on the finer points of manners and dancing means spending a lot of time in Gabriel's town house. During the course of ticking off the points of her list of adventure, she keeps running into him a lot, and the Marquis is surprised that the prim and proper, and rather plain Lady Calpurnia deep down has hidden depths and is clearly an adventurous and spirited woman, who he can't seem to get out of his mind after kissing her.

37: Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord
Lord Nicholas St. John may not be titled, but he's as rich and handsome as his Marquis brother, and they can be told apart by the scar Nick has on his cheek, which he sustained thanks to a treacherous lady during a campaign in Turkey. A seasoned solidier, adventurer and trained archeologist and scholar, Nick is desperate to escape London after a popular ladies' magazine votes him one of the city's most eligible bachelors. When his old school friend, the imperious Duke of Leighton, asks him to use the skills he learned in the army to track down the whereabouts of his younger sister, Lady Georgiana, who's gone missing. Happy to avoid the grasping clutches of the young ladies of the ton and their match-making mamas, Nick agrees, and sets off to the north of England accompanied by Rock, his huge Turkish former comrade-in-arms.

In a crumbling manor house in Yorkshire, Lady Isabel Townsend has just been told that her father, the wastrel Earl, has died, leaving her and her younger brother, the new Earl, completely penniless. Isabel has to find the money to fix the leaky roof, send her brother to Eton and feed and clothe the two dozen women under her roof. Isabel wants her ten-year-old brother to have a proper education so he can become a proper gentleman and raise himself and the Earldom above the reputation their father left. She is also running Minerva House, a refuge for abused, battered and helpless women from all over the country. Their newest arrival, Lady Georgiana, is pregnant and desperate, and despite the warnings from her various members of staff (all former Minerva House refugees) about this likely leading to trouble, Isabel determines that the young lady gets to stay.

In order to get money, Isabel resolves to sell off the large collection of marble statues she inherited from her mother. Though she loves the collection, her need for money is greater. Imagine her luck when famous archeologist and expert in antiquities, Nicholas St. John turns up in her village in Yorkshire, saving her from being trampled by a carriage and offering to appraise her valuables for her.

Nick is less than impressed with the willful and stubborn Lady Isabel, who while very pretty, insists on courting danger by stepping in front of speeding carriages and balancing on crumbling manor roofs. As the village near her manor is the last place Lady Georgiana was seen, he figures that he may as well use the excuse of the marbles to gain entry into her house. Little does he know that while he though he'd escaped match-making, Isabel's all-female staff are avidly reading ladies' magazines and feel that Isabel marrying the rich and handsome lord would be a much better solution than selling her beloved marbles.

38: Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart
Miss Juliana Fiori keeps trying to behave impeccably in the stifling London society, but everywhere she goes, there is malicious gossip about her, her brothers and most of all, about her scandalous mother. Possibly even more damaged by their mother's faithlessness than her brothers, Juliana constantly fears that sooner or later, blood really will tell, and she will prove to be just like her mother. After all, she kissed Simon Pearson, the Duke of Leighton, just to provoke a reaction from him at the Royal Art Exibition, and he's been cold and utterly disdainful since he discovered her identity.

Juliana doesn't realize that Simon holds so rigidly to correct manners and propriety, not just because of his lofty title, but because he knows that scandal will inevitably erupt around him once society discovers that his younger sister, Lady Georgiana, is hidden away in Yorkshire having a child out of wedlock. He needs to work damage control, and ally himself with a family of impeccable taste and reputation, before everything blows up in his face. So he will marry a young lady of good breeding, even though his heart beats faster every time he sees or speaks to the vibrant Juliana.

When she makes him a wager that she will prove to him in less than 14 days that a life without passion is not worth living, he knows he should refuse, but is powerless to resist. Soon the icy Duke of Disdain will discover that when it comes to a stubborn and fiery Italian beauty, he doesn't stand a chance.

The first and the last book in the series are absolutely the most enjoyable of the two, with a lot more happening and a greater sense of adventure. Nick and Isabel's book takes place over a very short space of time, confined to the wilds of Yorkshire, and not that much actually happens in it. It is still a useful book to have read for further insight into the characters, and especially to give backstory to Simon, the seemingly extremely stuck-up Duke of Leighton. All three books can be read independently of each others, but work very well as a series, and I will absolutely be checking out any new novels Sarah MacLean writes.

35. "Finding Sky" by Joss Stirling

2011-05-08T01:20:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: April 27th, 2011
Date finished: April 27th, 2011

I have a weakness for young adult books with pretty covers. It was what first drew me to Twilight, and it has led me to pick up and purchase a number of novels, some of them excellent (Wicked Lovely, Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception), some of them absolute dreck (Hush Hush, Fallen). Finding Sky does not quite reach the dizzying heights of brilliance of the former books, but it's also a far cry from the latter, and the author is clearly trying to do something new, while still cashing in on the extremely lucrative angsty teen romance market.

Found abandoned at a petrol station as a child, Sky is bounced from foster home to foster home until the artistically inclined Brights adopt her. Yup, the heroine's name is Sky Bright (the lameness of her name is pointed out frequently in the novel, so it's not like the author isn't aware of it). Her parents get a grant to go to the US for a year, and Sky has to adjust to an small town American high school, nervous that it's going to be like all the stereotypes she's seen in the movies. After just a few days in school, the resident bad boy, Zed Benedict, catches her eye. So far, so Twilight. While Zed isn't a sparkly vampire, he does come from a family with unusual powers, and once he gets closer to Sky, he claims that she's his soulfinder (pretty much fated mate) and that she too has unusual abilities that she just needs to get in touch with.

Zed's the youngest of seven brothers, and his entire family, including his parents, has abilities like telekinesis, mind reading, healing and even mind control. They use their powers for good and try to help the authorities solve crimes. This isn't always popular, and they have dangerous enemies. These enemies realize Sky's somehow connected to the Benedict family and she is abducted to be used as a bargaining chip. If the Benedicts refuse to comply, she may be brainwashed, or even killed.

As I said, to begin with, this book seemed to be a fairly standard Twilight-rip off, but Stirling has some interesting ideas, and the concept of soulfinders, and certain people with supernatural abilities (that can be used for good or evil) was an intriguing one. Once one of these soul finders find their mate, their powers compliment each other so the couple become a stronger whole, but they can go their entire life without finding them, and can thus lose control and turn bad.

Sky is nothing like Bella Swan, she's insecure from having been abandoned as a young child, and having been in foster care for years before being adopted, but she's opinionated and self-sufficient and tries very hard not to be a damsel in distress, even when faced with some pretty terrifying kidnappers. She resists Zed at first, and while his change from surly and stand-offish at the start of the book to charming and romantic is explained, the romance does develop rather quickly, in my opinion. Not that there is a lot more to the romance than the occasional kiss, so this can safely be read by quite young readers without any fear of inappropriateness.

The Benedict family seem very cool, and as it's clear that Stirling has a book in mind for each of the seven brothers, I'm glad that they were all interesting and complex characters, and that the world she's created is an intriguing one. I will absolutely be checking out Stealing Phoenix when it comes out.

34. "Bossypants" by Tina Fey

2011-05-07T23:04:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Page count: 288 pages
Date begun: April 24th, 2011
Date finished: April 26th, 2011

I picked up Tina Fey's autobiography after reading very positive reviews by fellow Cannonballers. I don't read a whole lot of non-fiction, but as a big fan of Mean Girls and 30 Rock, I was pretty sure I'd like this, even before I read the glowing reviews.

Bossypants is not a very long book, and anyone expecting great revelations about Tina Fey and her life may be in for some disappointment. While Fey reveals a lot about herself through stories of her adolescence, insights into her honeymoon, tid-bits about working for Saturday Night Live, creating 30 Rock and even trying to arrange her daughter's birthday party while getting ready to parody Sarah Palin on SNL and having Oprah guest on her sit com, most of the book is observational comedy, not a tell all book about the life of a female writer and sit com creator.

It is a very funny book, however, and I frequently laughed out loud, both on public transport and in the comfort of my home (much to the annoyance of the husband, who kept having to have jokes that may not be that funny out of context explained to him). If you find Liz Lemon on 30 Rock amusing, you'll probably like this book, as it seems Tina Fey has put a lot of herself into her TV character.

33. "Portrait in Death" by J.D. Robb

2011-05-07T22:56:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: April 18th, 2011
Date finished: April 20th, 2011

A young woman is found murdered and stuffed in a dumpster. Star reporter Nadine Furst has been sent photos of the victim, and clashes with Lt. Eve Dallas when it comes to reporting on the crime. There are a number of photos of the victim, obviously taken before the crime was committed, without the girl being aware she was being stalked. There are photos of the dead girl, posed, as in a portrait, after her death. None of the victim's friends or family can help determine a motive, and then a second young victim is found, facedown in a fountain, with further pictures being sent to Nadine. Eve is determined to track down the killer before he kills again, but it's not easy finding the links between the dead, and she will have to manage without help from Roarke on this case, as he is preoccupied with other things.

While Summerset, Roarke's faithful butler (and former foster father) and Eve's household nemesis, is convalescing from a broken leg, Roarke receives some troubling news about his past. He reacts badly, trying to shut Eve out, and travels to his old hometown of Dublin to dig up the truth behind the rumours. Eve realises that her husband, despite all his outward strength and confidence, is vulnerable too, and that his dark past is as troubling to him as hers is to her.

Several of the supporting characters take more of a back seat in this one, and more is obviously revealed about Roarke's childhood in Dublin and his family life. Eve and Summerset are forced to form an alliance to get through to the man they both love, and work together to get him through a very difficult time. Another very enjoyable read in the In Death series.

32. "Purity in Death" by J.D. Robb

2011-04-18T03:27:00.001+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: April 15th, 2011
Date finished: April 16th, 2011

Lt. Eve Dallas is dreading going to a fancy dinner with her fantabulously wealthy husband Roarke and some of his business associates when she is called to a grisly crime scene. A low level drug dealer took a baseball bat to his neighbours when they tried to make him turn his music down, and while the cop on the scene only tried to stun him, the assailant fell down dead. On his computer screen the cops on the scene find the message: "Absolute purity achieved."

A couple of days later, one of the computer division cops working with the computer in question goes absolutely apeshit and starts firing wildly at his colleagues, hitting Detective McNab in the process and locking himself in an office with his superior (and Eve's mentor and former partner) Captain Feeney as a hostage. Eve, realizing that he seems to be suffering from the same mysterious rage as the dead drug dealer, manages to save Feeney, but is unable to calm her crazed colleague before he collapses and dies. It's clear that they're dealing with some form of virus that can spread from computer to person, and that it kills in a most unpleasant way.

When the group known as the Purity Seekers publicly announces that they mean to bring purity to New York by killing those who prey on children and the weak, Eve has to try to solve the murders of victims no one will miss, and track down an organization whose goals are seen as admirable to many of the people she's sworn to protect.

Jamie Lingstrom, the technology whiz kid from Ceremony in Death makes a return appearance, and Mavis (Eve's best friend and famous rock star) surprises Eve with some unexpected news that completely stuns the emotionally troubled lieutenant. The entire cast of regulars have to deal with the difficult knowledge that McNab may be permanently wheelchair-bound after his accident, which obviously hits Peabody especially hard, and Eve has to realize that sometimes she and Roarke do not agree on how justice should be served to criminals. Another entertaining installment, but without any huge developments on the character front.

31. "Reunion in Death" by J.D. Robb

2011-04-17T23:34:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: April 14th, 2011
Date finished: April 15th, 2011

Walter Pettibone, owner of a florist empire is poisoned during his own surprise birthday party. None of the guests appear to have a motive for the murder, but once Lt. Eve Dallas identifies the murderer on security videos, she recognizes her as Julianna Dunne, a woman Eve helped put in prison early in her career. Now, after ten years in prison, having been released on good behaviour, Julianna plans to get back at all the people from her past who she has grievances against, and Eve Dallas is at the top of that list.

This book was refreshingly different, as it was obvious pretty much from the start who the murderer was, and the point of the book was not figuring out the identity or motive of the killer, but rather Eve and her associates trying to hunt Dunne down and put her away for good this time. The case becomes more challenging for Eve once she has to go to Dallas, the city she's named for, to question a potential future victim of Dunne's, and also face her childhood demons once and for all. Profiling also shows that to get to Eve, Dunne is likely to go after what she cares most for, her husband Roarke.

Reunion in Death was in parts very difficult to read, when Eve actually goes back to the alley where she was found after escaping her abusive father, and even visits the room where she was held and molested before her escape. Having Eve finally open up to and fully take in her harrowing memories actually brought tears to my eyes, but Robb also balances the tragedy with comedy, and there are several scenes both before and after that had me laughing out loud. Eve's shocked reaction to people voluntarily riding horses, and then discovering that Roarke can ride, was especially good.

The book can be read completely independently of the others in the series, but anyone who starts with this will not fully get the emotional impact of the journey Eve is forced to take in this book. You need to have followed the character through more of the 14 novels for it to really feel like a truly satisfying pay-off.

30. "Seduction in Death" by J.D. Robb

2011-04-17T17:16:00.000+02:00

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 320 pages
Date begun: April 12th, 2011
Date finished: April 13th, 2011

Every so often, I get the urge to read nothing but J.D. Robb books for a while. As Robb (the novelist Nora Roberts) is still writing the ongoing series, and they feature a set cast of characters, it's like watching an entertaining police procedural, only I get it in book form. Just as with a decent procedural, where you can catch an episode now and then and get a decent idea of what's going on between the various regular characters and what their relationships are to one another, you can pretty much pick up any J.D. Robb In Death novel without having read any others first. I find that the reason I enjoy them so much, though, is because I have followed the characters from the beginning, and can see how they've developed and grown over the course of the series. So if you want to start at the beginning, read the absolutely excellent Naked in Death.

Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to solve a series of date rape murders, where the women meet their killer in online chat rooms, believe they have found their perfect partner, only to be pumped full of dangerous date rape drugs and murdered. Herself a victim of rape and child abuse, Eve is even more driven than usual to track down the murderer and stop the assaults. As the killer disguises his appearance on each of the dates, uses drugs that are not readily available and also seems to be rather good at hiding his electronic trail, it's quite a challenge to track him. Luckily her husband Roarke, who also owns most of the known world, is a computer genius, who happily lends his assistance.

As well as further glimpses into Eve's childhood through her nasty, recurring nightmare, there is further development for Eve's trusty aide, Delia Peabody and her on-off again flirt, Ian McNab, who works in the police computer division. There is the welcome return of Charles Monroe, a licenced companion who's very close friendship with Peabody caused McNab to dump her in a previous book. Doctor Louise Dimatto from Conspiracy in Death also returns, having witnessed the first victim plunging from her balcony to the sidewalk, and is able to use her medical knowledge to help Eve and her investigative team with their case. A fun installment, especially because McNab is forced to really examine his feelings for Peabody, and Eve is once again mortified at being asked about relationship advice by her assistant.